Sunday, July 15, 2007
Richest of the Rich
An article in the New York Times, "The Richest of The Rich," describes a new gilded age where the rich are getting richer, powered by investment savvy and a strong stock market. In the meantime, the middle class is losing ground in a country where jobs are outsourced and sent overseas. More and more people are earning at the minimum wage and having to take two and three jobs to make ends meet.
Alexis de Tocqueville writing in the 1830s considered America great because people with independence and initiative could get ahead. Today many Americans are discouraged in a country where the wealth is owned by a few but the overwhelming majority are burdened with debt, low incomes, and few opportunities.
The solution is not more restrictions, but rather less government, less taxes, and more opportunities that will create wealth and keep America industrious and healthy. A nation's wealth is built from the bottom up, not the other way around. The problem is that the average American doesn't have the opportunities of the few rich. Too much of what they earn is spent on taxes and interest. Also, Americans now compete with global giants that have no sense of national loyalty or the effects of their decisions on the small entrepreneur. The problem is not that the wealthy are obscenely rich, but rather that a glass ceiling exists that makes it hard for young entrepreneurs to break through.
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