Thursday, September 19, 2013

CNN Money on income inequality

I concluded CNN Money on Occupy Wall Street two years later by writing "stay tuned for more from CNN Money on income inequality."  This morning, I present two clips from CNN Money's Annalyn Kurtz show featuring former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, former Lehman Brothers VP Lawence McDonald, and Occupy Wall Street protester Mark Bray about income inequality.

The first asks Why is the U.S.A. so unequal?

With higher income inequality than in other developed economies, is the U.S. safety net broken, or is it to blame?
I'm with Reich and Bray.  The problem is that wages are too low, not that the safety net is too comfortable.

The second asks Who's to blame for income inequality?

From Wall Street to Washington, our panelists list a number of factors contributing to income inequality.
Again, I agree with Reich and Bray.  Income inequality is a political problem at both ends of the economic spectrum.  The effect of big money in politics, which was mentioned in the previous entry in this series, is the major issue for the Coffee Party.  As such, it's an issue for me.

Tonight, I'll conclude this series by embedding the clip about organizing fast food workers and showing how it's played out locally through Occupy Detroit.  Stay tuned.

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