Blame it on Mom and Dad, two of “The Greatest Generation.” They had no vices, hated nobody. We went to a mainstream church that practiced what it preached: LOVE. Mom and Dad were intelligent, educated. They talked about, did “the right thing.” You were EXPECTED to do “the right thing,” because it was the right thing. Being humans, we didn’t always do the right thing.
Mom and Dad, like others of “the greatest generation,” were young people in the 1930s “Great Depression” – which was followed by World War II – 16 straight years of being “tested” by forces of nature, by human greed and evil. 16 straight years of thinking about forces greater than themselves. 16 straight years of learning that to survive as individuals, as a nation – people needed to work together, for each other
Mom and Dad, like others of their generation, valued virtually everything they had. There were balls of string, coils of wire, extra glass jars, boxes of spare electrical parts, extra wood boards, metal rods, extra windows, etc. – because “we might need them.” You didn’t throw things away, you tried to fix them. If you couldn’t fix it, there were “fix-it” shops and hardwares that could.
We didn’t appreciate much of this at the time – we were kids. We assume3d what happened was “normal.” Unfortunately it wasn’t – we learned this later too.
We were surrounded by members of the “greatest generation.” They were other kids’ parents, our neighbors, teachers, our parents’ friends, many adults, later – our bosses. We didn’t appreciate how privileged we were to grow up surrounded by this group of adults – we were just kids.
Most of the men had beed World War II veterans. Most of them didn’t talk about what they saw. But – many of them were unable to forget it. Some, like famed writer J.D. Salinger, were extremely affected, even hospitalized. Mom said Dad tossed and turned for months in his sleep after he got back. Dad never said much about what he’d seen. His proudest memory: his gun crew didn’t shoot down any “friendlies” – he had a great “spotter.”
There were three of us, always trying to get “the biggest piece.” Mom was a great cook. Her masterpieces were mouthwatering hand-crafted chocolate cakes. The contest for the “biggest piece” was solved by “Betty’s Rule.”
Betty’s Rule: the kid who cuts the cake gets the last piece.
My brother thought he had THE answer for this problem: he put a ruler on top of one of Mom’s great chocolate cakes. Mom laughed. Points for creativity.
Many of the 1980-202X American problems exist because America doesn’t operate by “Betty’s Rule.” “The kid” who cuts the cake DOESN’T get the last piece. Increasingly, that “kid” gets not only the FIRST piece, but often the second and third as well.
Since 1980, we have increasing “economic inequality” – the top 1% acquires more and more of EVERYTHING. [except taxes]. Increasingly, we have a “Winner Take All” America [Hacker & Pierson]. Perhaps best symbolized by the greedy Wall Street “people” who, without shame, took 2009 bail-out money form the lower 90% [which existed because of the crisis THEIR greed had created] – and gave themselves “bonuses.”
Betty”s Rule is unknown on Wall Street. If it were, they”d laugh at the mere idea.
Numerous analysts have written about the cost and consequences of post-1980 America not living by “Betty”s Rule,” or ANY rule mentioning restraint and moderation, ANY hint of “we’re all in this together,” ANY moral rule indicating there might be some reasonable limit, beyond which, even GREED no longer made sense – except to keep score.
For perspective and knowledge, you can refer to any of the following:_
– Wilkinson & PIckett’s international bestseller, “The Spirit Level” [Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger}
– Joseph Stiglitz’ “The Price of Inequality [How Today’s Divided Society Endangers Our Future]
– Pulitzer Prize winner Hedrick Smith’s “Who Stole the American Dream?”
– Double Pulitzer Prize winners Donald Bartlett & James Steele’s “The Betrayal of the American Dream”
– Pulitzer Prize winner David Cay Johnston’s “Divided” [The Perils of Our Growing Inequality], or other Johnston books: “Free Lunch” [How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves…] & “Perfectly Legal” [The Covert Campaign to Rig…]
– CharlesFergusons’s Academy Award winning film “Inside Job” or subsequent book “Predator Nation” [Corporate
Criminals and the Hijacking of America]
– study work done by Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez
– find unspun IRS, GAO, CBO statistics [example: Mother Jones, March/April, 2011, page 25]
– the Mother Jones, March/April, 2011, issue contains “Your Loss, Their Gain” chart: “How much income have YOU given
up for the top 1%?” If you are in the lower 90%, it averages between $3733-l0,100 [2011 dollars!!!] less EVERY. year, IF.
your income had seen the same growth rates in 1979-2005 “as they did in previous decades” [Hacker & Pierson]
– Mother Jones, March/April, 2011, issues has “Plutonomics” explained by Citigroup’s lead “strategist” for wealthy clients
and this: “Kapur noted that the wealthiest one percent of Americans – whom he called ‘the plutomists” had benefitted
DISPROPORTIONATELY from recent increases in worker productivity, and he happily forecast that ‘global capitalists’
are going to be getting an EVER GREATER share of the wealth pie over the next few years.”
You people in the lower 90% – THEY’RE. LAUGHING. AT. YOU11111. all the way to the banks. They’re rubbing your noses in it. They’re buying off [mostly Republican] politicians to GUARANTEE this happens.
Some of you were conned by the [maybe] billionaire in 2016. He promised you the moon [another BIG LIE]. His signature domestic “achievement”: the reverse Robin Hood tax cuts that. ONLY permanently last for the top 1% and corporations [check this out: the IRS & CBO numbers are in!!!].
From 1789 – 1980, one signature American economy and society characteristic was: every generation almost always did better than their parents. Since 1980, this is no longer guaranteed. YOUR task: find out Why.
Why are we talking about “economic inequality” now? We didn’t worry about this in the great middle class prosperity of 1947-73. Your task: What. DELIBERATELY. changed?
The top 1% decided they didn’t want to share. So – we have “job outsourcing.” We have “globalism” – the “race to the bottom”; lowest taxes, least regulations, cheapest wages. We have massive [documented] rigging of the tax code. We have obscene wealth of 3 million Americans.
We DON’T. have “Betty’s Rule, or anything like it. “The kid” [top 1%] that cuts the cake doesn’t get the last piece – they get most of the entire cake. And – they’re laughing at you.
With Justice For All 