Tag: growing income inequality

World’s Wealthiest Became $1 Trillion Richer in 2017

The following article by Tom Metcalf and Jack Witzig was posted on the Bloomberg News website December 26, 2017:

The richest people on earth became $1 trillion richer in 2017, more than four times last year’s gain, as stock markets shrugged off economic, social and political divisions to reach record highs.

The 23 percent increase on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the world’s 500 richest people, compares with an almost 20 percent increase for both the MSCI World Index and Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

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Inequality Out of Control: The Average 1% Household Is Over $2.5 Million Richer in the Past Year

The following article by Paul Buchheit was posted on the AlterNet website November 20, 2017:

Credit: Economist Magazine, August, 2015

Inequality, like a malignant tumor, is growing out of control, and the only response from Congress is to make it even worse. Those at the richest end of the nation seem to have lost all capacity for understanding the meaning and values of an interdependent society. They’ve convinced themselves that they deserve their passively accumulated windfalls, and that poorer people have only themselves to blame for their own misfortunes.

It’s Getting Uglier Every Year

The average 1% household made nearly $2.6 million in the 12 months to mid-2017, mostly from the stock market. Here’s how:  Continue reading “Inequality Out of Control: The Average 1% Household Is Over $2.5 Million Richer in the Past Year”

The Ownership Society (Part 2): Career and Technical Education

The following is from an email from Minnesota Attorney General Lori There has been a lot of commentary about the income gap and wealth gap in America.  If a goal in this country is to build an ownership society with a strong middle class, we need to promote in every shape, manner, and form a nation premised on achievement, a work ethic, and a strong education.

This paper, the second in a series, discusses career and technical education.

(I realize these papers are long.  I strongly believe, though, that our fellow Minnesotans should receive more than simple emailed slogans asking for donations.  My purpose in holding elected office is to share opinions and ideas about improving Minnesota.  I enjoy and learn from your responses to my letters.) 

Career and Technical Education.   A clay brick is fragile; it shatters when it hits the ground. But a brick combined with other bricks creates an enduring structure that withstands the test of time.   Career and Technical Education (“CTE”) is an important brick in building an Ownership Society.Technology has changed the needs of industry, and our demographics have changed the needs of consumers.  According to the U.S. Department of Education, jobs relying on education and training from associate degrees will grow faster than any other training source in coming years.[1] 55 million jobs are expected to open by 2020, and many will require some college or a two-year degree.[2]  This means that people who have undertaken career or technical training can be positioned for success.  “Ready, Set, Go,” an amalgam of the Minnesota Department of Education, the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, and Minnesota State estimates that by 2020, at least 74% of all jobs in Minnesota will require some form of education beyond high school.[3]

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