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Monday, September 21, 2020

Inequality in the United States—pandemic edition David F. Ruccio


Pretty shocking numbers if wealth being hoovered up.

Note that the UBI is supposed to address the effects of inequality — but won't. The obvious way to do this is to preempt economic rent extraction and mop up the residual by taxing it away. But that would require a shift in political power relations.

Occasional Links & Commentary
Inequality in the United States—pandemic edition
David F. Ruccio | Professor of Economics, University of Notre Dame

See also

Counterpunch
Trump’s Destruction of America Started With Reagan
Thom Hartmann
at

2 comments:

  1. Andrew AndersonSeptember 21, 2020 at 12:14 PM

    Note that the UBI is supposed to address the effects of inequality — but won't. Tom Hickey

    Too chicken to say a JG won't either?

    The obvious way to do this is to preempt economic rent extraction ibid

    I.e. land reform and de-privileging the usury cartel.

    and mop up the residual by taxing it away. ibid

    Note then that negative interest and yields on hoards of the inherently risk-free debt of monetary sovereigns, besides being ethically called for, is simple and inescapable.

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  2. Tom HickeySeptember 21, 2020 at 1:35 PM

    The JG addresses unemployment, not inequality. Excessive inequality is largely a result of economic rent and the way to deal with economic rent is preemption and taxing away. There is always going to be some inequality of income and wealth and that is OK if not excessive to the degree it becomes a social problem and power/privilege issue.

    The JG has an indirect effect on distribution rather than a direct one, largely improving life at the bottom but not effecting the top very much. That requires directly addressing economic rent extraction, which is a systemic matter that goes beyond employment.

    What the JG does do is increase labor bargaining power by elimination the buffer stock of unemployed as a "reserve army of the destitute" for firms to prey upon. So there is also some influence on distribution.

    This is an important distinction. Many misunderstand what the JG is about.

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