Income Inequality - Some Facts

It is true that we do have income inequality in the United States.  But it is wrong to assume that the poor are poor because the rich are rich.  And, it is also wrong to say that the rich do not pay their “fair share”.  That is pure Malarkey as Biden likes to say.  The fact is that about 50% of working Americans pay no income taxes at all.  We have the most progressive income tax system in the world.  The top 10% of taxpayers pay about 70% of all income taxes paid with the remaining 40% paying the next 30% of income taxes paid.  Everybody legally uses the tax code to cut their income taxes and that happens at all income levels.  That is what accountants are paid to do.  The working poor actually get money back from the IRS through the earned income tax credit that was enacted when Reagan was President to give people an incentive to work rather than go on welfare.  

In real numbers there are far more poor White people than minorities and more of them are on welfare and food stamps.  The poor and working poor are either on Medicaid that provides medical care at no cost, or on subsidized ObamaCare that is free to them; but may involve co-pays and deductibles that can be very high.  So much for ObamaCare actually lowering the cost of health care.  That just did not happen.  

In any case, income inequality in America has nothing to do with race.  Half of the people living in our country of all races cannot come up with a $1,000 to cover an emergency.  In most cases those living in poverty lack marketable job skills and or have had children out of wedlock.  Single moms raising children with no child support, or dad in the home are more likely to be living in poverty.  The job skills issue ties directly to the failure of our public schools, particularly in our inner cities to provide education that is marketable. The average kid graduating from an inner city high school is functioning at a 5th grade math and reading levels.  A small percentage will go out to complete a four year college degree.  

And, since pushing vocational education on these kids of any race to learn a valuable skill is often considered racist, it just does not happen.  We should channel these kids who are not college bound into apprentice programs as they do in Europe and Asia.  The ruling elites contend that working with ones hands is demeaning and even racist.   Of course, that is ridiculous. 

We have to deal with the roots of income inequality in our country.  Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour will just kill jobs and not solve the problem.  If a Big Mac cost $15, how are the poor better off.   If food at Wal Mart becomes more expensive because of the higher minimum wage how does the Food Stamp Debit card buy more food.  The solutions to the income inequality problem is first to tell people it is wrong to have children out of wedlock.  This does not mean more abortions.  It should mean more birth control and or abstinence.  And finally, we have to fix our public schools.  The United States spends more on public education than any other country; yet academic results in many schools are dismal.  

The teacher unions are not there to protect the rights of children.  Maybe we need parent’s unions to represent their children.  We have to have more vocational education programs.  We must recognize that not every kid is college bound and it is ok.  A good electrician, carpenter, plumber, welder etc. will never starve.  It is time to see the forest for the trees.  Income inequality has nothing to do with the rich.  In fact, we need rich people to create jobs.  This is not the story we hear from the National Socialists or Fake News