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This is it. Rewards have largely gone to the upper echelons of the management tree. With globalization and automation suppressing wage growth for the majority o

This is it. Rewards have largely gone to the upper echelons of the management tree. With globalization and automation suppressing wage growth for the majority of the population. This is why we're seeing all of the money go towards fields that: a. can't be automated and b. can't be outsourced This is also by design, as this was the Reaganite answer to the stagflation of the 70s and a reversal of the income distribution that was forcibly enacted by the New Deal.

BoiledCabbage 10y ago
The default nature of society is are rich and poor. There is by default no middle class. It has essentially always been this way in society. This is because capital accumulates, and rent seeking will always scale better than labor. America had the prosperity of the 20th century due to explicit programs to create a middle class. Beginning immediately following the 1929 stock market crash with the New Deal, and through the social welfare programs of the 40s of the GI bill and mortgage lending we intentionally created a middle class and society prospered. If we as society want a middle class we need to create it. In action will remove it as things fall back to historical normal, and actively working against activities that build and support the middle class (like destroying unions) will end it faster. The other issue is the difference between short term and long term economic efficiency. Optimizing for capitol over labor will almost always provide more short term efficiency. Adding more cheap labor will almost always increase profits. But longer term our society will be always be better off if a larger percentage of our population can be educated, and financially stable enough for invention and improve productivity through technological innovation. The more people who can have an idea and join the capital class, the more efficient our economy will be. A middle class is exactly what provides this. Long term economic productivity is dependent on a middle class. Look back throughout human history, times of huge social and technological innovation almost always follow a sudden increase in free time for the average person (ie time beyond the work needed for survival).

BoiledCabbage 10y ago

The default nature of society is are rich and poor. There is by default no middle class. It has essentially always been this way in society. This is because capital accumulates, and rent seeking will always scale better than labor. America had the prosperity of the 20th century due to explicit programs to create a middle class. Beginning immediately following the 1929 stock market crash with the New Deal, and through the social welfare programs of the 40s of the GI bill and mortgage lending we intentionally created a middle class and society prospered. If we as society want a middle class we need to create it. In action will remove it as things fall back to historical normal, and actively working against activities that build and support the middle class (like destroying unions) will end it faster. The other issue is the difference between short term and long term economic efficiency. Optimizing for capitol over labor will almost always provide more short term efficiency. Adding more cheap labor will almost always increase profits. But longer term our society will be always be better off if a larger percentage of our population can be educated, and financially stable enough for invention and improve productivity through technological innovation. The more people who can have an idea and join the capital class, the more efficient our economy will be. A middle class is exactly what provides this. Long term economic productivity is dependent on a middle class. Look back throughout human history, times of huge social and technological innovation almost always follow a sudden increase in free time for the average person (ie time beyond the work needed for survival).