1 Percent Decides What's Mainstream

Workers have the right in a capitalist system to make money and better their lives and the lifestyles of their families. But if working for wages or owning a business, which makes money, there comes with it a responsibility of how it is used or spent. It should not be used to destroy, it should be used to build and enhance the community and living standards for all, and this will not happen if the 1 percent just sits on their cash or worse yet, hides it to not pay their share for using our commons. The most important fact to appreciate is that the concentrated wealth translates into concentrated political power. The remedies that could reverse the increasing inequality are outside the mainstream politics today because the wealthy 1 percent gets to define what’s mainstream. This is why we need a wage hike of at least $15 to $18 an hour, more full-time jobs with benefits, such as healthcare, pensions, and free education for all. There are comparisons to draw from, such as Denmark or Finland, who have more equal income distributions. Their people, who begin life at the bottom, have double the chance of making it to the top as their American counterparts. You have to ask yourself why this is. This has to stop, because, as inequality becomes more extreme, the consequences of getting stuck at the bottom are more severe, and the product of this can be see here in places like Ferguson, Mo., and across the world.