[sendler]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

As if money spent by the 1% spontaneously bursts into flames the moment they purchase something, never to be spent again by the oppressed 99%. I guess everyone is volunteering their time and don't get paid.

Much of this totally vast wealth of the top 1% is stashed away as digits in accounts. Or gold in safes. Ect. Much of it is not doing society any good. Generation after generation. That which does get spent is often very highly resource consumptive. Since every good or service must first start with an energy input, and 87% of our energy comes from fossil fuels, everything anyone spends literally does cause something to burn somewhere. Our overconsumption is blowing through everything the planet has to offer in the space of 200 years and leaving little left for those that will follow us. Shame on us. Future Humans and all other life will suffer depletion and degradation.

Originally Posted by redpoint5

The global GDP per capita has been rising throughout the income distribution. The fact that the more wealthy have benefited more is entirely expected, as that is a feature of nature, that the big get bigger at a faster rate.

Income for the bottom 70% of Americans leveled off in the 1970's and has fallen since 2000. Justifying vast wealth inequity in human civilization by comparing a redwood tree to a scrub bush has no relevance whatsoever to the discussion human society.

Originally Posted by redpoint5

You've already mentioned why we're better off than in 2000; there's hardly anyone that would rather be living in 2000 than now.

Gadgets are cheaper and we are hijacked by entertainment but most middle class and lower work more or hours or multiple jobs and would be even happier if they could afford the modern distractions, and[/B] actually work fewer hours, raise a family on one income, own their own house, and retire at an earlier age. As my parents did in the 70's. If wealth were distributed a little more fairly. The owners of production and owners of land are holding all of the cards. Because of globalization and increasing automation, the average wage that a worker in any part of the Global North has decreased on average since most "jobs" are now in the service sector. There are now more bartenders/ waitresses, store clerks, ect, in the USA, than manufacturing jobs.
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The workers of the Global North have already chipped in their share to raise up the exploited Global South. It is now time for the exceedingly wealthy owners of capital to chip in more and do their share to raise wellbeing at home to maintain social cohesion and abroad to mitigate and develop so that people will not need to mass migrate in the coming decades.

Originally Posted by redpoint5

It might be a problem that the very wealthy are accumulating a greater portion of the wealth

In the USA, the top 1% owns 40% of the accumulated wealth. You don't see a problem with that? On the world level the numbers are of course even more distressing obviously because there are 3 billion people that still cook and heat with wood or dung as there only source of heat.

Originally Posted by redpoint5

(the top 20% of households pay 87% of the federal taxes); but the problem isn't globalization or automation. What are we going to do, de-globalize (isolate) and form an angry mob to tear down factories? We'd then go back to expensive goods AND the economy in the US would be much worse since other countries would continue with global trade and automation.

We are seeing countries turning inward all over the world already. Nationalism is completely on the rise. Although I would personally not hope for border walls and machine guns as the answer. Information has widespread availability now. This is truly the advance that no one would want to lose. The workers will use their majority in democracy to vote in progressive representatives that will stand up for organized bargaining for labor and institute forward thinking programs to rebuild infrastructure and socio-economic systems for an eventual net zero carbon/ zero growth system that allows everyone to thrive.

Originally Posted by redpoint5

I've already stated my idea for closing tax loopholes and reducing political corruption, which is to eliminate tax deductions entirely.

Pointing out that globalization and automation have contributed to increasing resource consumption

I never said anything like that.

Originally Posted by redpoint5

is like pointing out that penicillin has increased resource consumption through reduced deaths by infection. We're not going to abandon any of those things.