[GPSCC-chat] Fw: Editorial - Inequality for All

[Caroline Yacoub]

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Subject: Editorial - Inequality for All
  


Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2013 11:26:28
-0700
>
>From: Don McCanne <don at mccanne.org>
>
>Subject:  Editorial - Inequality for All
>
>
>Quote of the Day Editorial
>October 11, 2013
>Inequality for All
>By Don McCanne, qotd editor
>
>Yesterday, my wife Sandy and I had the pleasure of joining a group from
our local chapter of the League of Women Voters in viewing the new
documentary, Inequality for All, featuring former Labor Secretary Robert
Reich. The lesson of the film did not escape those attending. The last
couple of decades have left low- and middle-income people behind while
all of the workers' gains in productivity have moved up to the very
wealthiest.
>
>This is an important issue for those who support single payer reform -
improved Medicare for all. The average health care costs for the typical
working family of four are now over $22,000 while the median household
income is $50,000. If everyone is going to have the health care that they
need, some of that wealth flowing upwards needs to be redirected to
health care, and to other social needs as well.
>
>Some of the wealthy one-percenters do understand this. Featured in the
documentary was entrepreneur and venture capitalist Nick Hanauer. The
following link is to a six minute TED video in which Nick explains the
phenomenon and why it is important to us. (For political reasons, TED
removed this video from its website, but it is still available through
YouTube.)
>
>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBx2Y5HhplI
>
>In our dinner discussion after viewing Inequality for All, some commented
that, though the film explained the problem well, it seemed to leave off
any plan for action. It does not require much intuitiveness to think of
what actions we might take, though the website for the film does help us
by discussing six categories for action:
>
>* Raise the minimum wage
>* Strengthen workers' voices
>* Invest in education
>* Reform Wall Street
>* Fix the tax system
>* Get big money out of politics
>
>Inequality for All:
>
>http://inequalityforall.com
>
>For those who would like to learn more, Berkeley Professor Emmanuel Saez,
who was also featured in the documentary, has published extensively on
this topic. Many of his papers  - several co-authored by Thomas
Piketty - can be downloaded from his website:
>
>http://elsa.berkeley.edu/~saez/
> 
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