Thanks for the link.
Yeah, income disparity is way out of whack.
I am assuming that you sent this US News and World Report link in response to my e-mail mentioning the American Dream of Fafa, Ana, and Waleed. In that email, I defined the American Dream as "Work hard and you can improve yourself," or something along those lines.
As I wrote that, I bore in mind, front and center, that the more deluxe definition of the American Dream is a lot harder to achieve nowadays -- i.e., a house, and kids in paid-for college, and a secure retirement. That is why I confined my definition to (paraphrased) "Work hard and honestly and you can advance" -- which is not something that can be done in some countries (such as big parts of Romania, the Sudan, and Iran), where working hard and honestly may backfire. Better to cheat and loaf, especially in communist countries.
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Sidebar
It is also hard to earn a living in a wholesome way in the Sudan. In the Sudan, Waleed told me of one way young men make good money in a start-up business. An entrepreneurially-inclined young man can:
1) Acquire several used Toyota pickups,
2) Mount machine guns on the backs of the pickups,
3) Recruit other guys to go around mowing down the enemy du jour,
4) Sell the fighting unit to a larger militia at a nice profit.
Shades of European fiefdoms in the Middle Ages!
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Yes, the older notion of the American Dream is much harder to achieve nowadays.
But working hard and honestly in the USA can still pan out. Sixty-three-year-old Ana said to me that America is a place where sincere, hard work can still translate into prosperity. But, she emphasizes that it is not easy.
She has a lot of bad things to say about the greed and corruption and selfishness that she sees spreading in the USA.
Her particular path was to be an almost English-illiterate Romanian driver for Domino's in L.A. in the 1980s. She worked her way up to store management, bought a house, and sent her daughter through expensive schooling (USC). The 30-something kid now earns $90k as a human resources person.
That said, Ana bemoans the corporatization of Domino's. saying that common sense human touches and product quality have taken a big hit as top-tier salaries have unconscionably soared.
American Dream is in the ICU - greed is more and more in charge
Any-HOOOO :) .... Here is a graphic that I am fond of sending out on social media when ever I want to underscore my view that the disease of greed in the US is spreading.
It is dramatic.
Link to graphic
It shows that around 1970, inflation-adjusted incomes of the bottom 90% flatlined after decades of rising. In the mid-70s, the incomes of the top 10% began taking off, after decades of being flatlined. The higher the percentile of the income, the faster it rose, generally speaking. The wild temporary downswings in the top 1% in the 1990s and 2000s correlate with steep falls in the stock markets. Overall, however, the rises in incomes of the top percentile have vastly outstripped the bottom 90%, which have flatlined.
Correlations to economic self-centeredness in the USA
I have noticed sociological correlations to this economic sea change. The beginning of the income disconnect around 1970 correlates with:
1) the increasing use of conscience-dulling recreational drugs, particularly cocaine
2) the fragmenting of the traditional family unit
3) the sexual revolution with de-emphasis on commitment, and increased emphasis on serial, transient sexual relationships without deeper bonding and long-term responsibility.
4) the increasing mingling of 1st and 3rd world economies, making cheap labor and increased profits without responsibility to the workers more possible. (It's easier to have slaves when they live in a shed on the back forty and you don't have to look at them).
5) the increased scattering of Americans from the communities of their upbringing
6) the increased public popularization of greed and economic self-centeredness as being smart and savvy and good.
7) the widespread internalization of a mental model of the universe as an impersonal avalanche of Darwinian vectors with no overriding purpose or point, contributing to a "Me Generation" "Greed is Good" style of thinking.
All of the above correlations have contributed to a distancing from each other in the immediate social spheres, and a reduced sense of individual responsibility for larger groups of people, I surmise. All of the above have contributed to the widening chasm of economic prosperity in the USA, I am supposing. It's easier to shit on those who are distant from you.
Thank you for your friendship :)
O.
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