Democratic citizenship depends on a certain commonality of shared experience and power across regions and races and classes. That's always going to be a challenge in a continent-wide nation of 310 million people with complicated immigration patterns and a sordid history of racial injustice. But it becomes close to impossible when the super-rich use their incomparable wealth, power, and influence to insulate themselves from meritocratic checks of the market as well as government oversight and regulation, ensuring that they acquire ever-greater wealth, power, and influence over time.
http://theweek.com/article/index/260267/why-we-need-a-maximum-wage
The change began in and even before 1978 and it wasn't just executives making more, it was the entire corporate philosophy changing from the customer, product and the employees making that product being of primary importance to the success of the corporation to the stock holders being of primary importance and therefore the top executives being the reasons for success. And they are the reason for success no matter how bad the product becomes or how many employees get let go. OK, that is a big generalization, there are still corporations that are old school and some companies do pretty well by their employees but my generalization is more true than not.
Still, when we can't get the taxes on the wealthy raised (face it, even the idea of paying 40% or 50% of your income as taxes doesn't sit well with anyone regardless of income level.) how would a maximum income level ever even get considered?
Perhaps eventually, enough corporations will be forced to somehow go back old school and the issues will take care of themselves. Or the world will become the one shown in Star Trek and everyone will be happy again. Of course, do we even know what that world was like for the poor or average blue collar worker? The lower ranks and the public seemed to get killed off and suffer a lot on the show.
Quote from: finehoe on April 23, 2014, 11:09:16 AM
Democratic citizenship depends on a certain commonality of shared experience and power across regions and races and classes. That's always going to be a challenge in a continent-wide nation of 310 million people with complicated immigration patterns and a sordid history of racial injustice. But it becomes close to impossible when the super-rich use their incomparable wealth, power, and influence to insulate themselves from meritocratic checks of the market as well as government oversight and regulation, ensuring that they acquire ever-greater wealth, power, and influence over time.
http://theweek.com/article/index/260267/why-we-need-a-maximum-wage
Do you actually believe this or were you posting this for reaction?
Quote from: fsquid on April 27, 2014, 10:38:33 AM
Do you actually believe this or were you posting this for reaction?
Is the unbelievable part that democracy works best when we have a commonality of experience, or that rich people use their wealth and influence to insulate themselves from many of the things the rest of us must endure?
Quote from: finehoe on April 28, 2014, 09:50:23 AM
Quote from: fsquid on April 27, 2014, 10:38:33 AM
Do you actually believe this or were you posting this for reaction?
Is the unbelievable part that democracy works best when we have a commonality of experience, or that rich people use their wealth and influence to insulate themselves from many of the things the rest of us must endure?
Please give a historical example of democracy working in a communist state.
Quote from: finehoe on April 28, 2014, 09:50:23 AM
Quote from: fsquid on April 27, 2014, 10:38:33 AM
Do you actually believe this or were you posting this for reaction?
Is the unbelievable part that democracy works best when we have a commonality of experience, or that rich people use their wealth and influence to insulate themselves from many of the things the rest of us must endure?
so your solution is to put a ceiling on an individual?
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7439/14055843445_d169077c41_o.jpg)