Thoughts on the growing economic divide

Perhaps there is no shame in being wealthy.  But how about when one's personal or corporate wealth is shielded from taxes in a foreign country or by numerous tax loopholes?  How about when corporations lay off employees, often creating great stress on those still remaining, simply to maximize shareholder value?  What about when the average CEO makes 360 times their average worker's salaries?  Lastly, what do you think about the growing numbers of people who are working full time but are unable to raise a family, or have health care coverage on their meager wages?

Bill Moyers expounds on the growing gap between the "haves" and "have nots" in his essay "The United States of Inequity."  Mr. Moyer's sums up his observation of the current situation in the United States... “A petty, narcissistic, pridefully ignorant politics has come to dominate and paralyze our government, while millions of people keep falling through the gaping hole that has turned us into the United States of Inequality.”

Vast income disparity in United States

Did you know that in the USA the average CEO makes a whopping 380 times what the average worker makes?  Unbelievable isn't it?  Want to see just how radically the wealth income is skewed check out the following video, Wealth Inequality in America.  The top one percent have 40% of the nation's wealth, while the bottom 80% only has 7% between them.

Occupy Wall Street Rally

I'm pleased to see that my favorite shopping place, Costco, is backing a rise in minimum wage, Rejecting industry dogma, Costco backs calls to lift minimum wage. I would challenge anyone to visit a Wal-Mart or Sam's Club, and then a Costco and compare the mental/emotional states of the workers. I'm always impressed with the positive attitudes of the people I've met who work at Costco.  Quite to the contrary, I've noticed many employees of other large corporate stores seem to be considerably less cheerful or even helpful.

Paying a livable salary is actually good for business, take it from Costco's chief executive Craig Jelinek,  “Instead of minimizing wages, we know it’s a lot more profitable in the long term to minimize employee turnover and maximize employee productivity, commitment and loyalty.”  I also find it also makes for a far superior shopping experience.

Poverty is not an accident.  Like slavery and apartheid, it is 

man-made and can be removed by the actions of human beings.  

-Nelson Mandela