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I generally despise politics and am neither a Republican or Democrat, but somebody needs to lay it out:

A Revolution--likely violent--is coming soon.

Income inequality in the US--and around the world--is reaching catastrophic proportions.

History says that this discrepancy in income and living standards is strongly correlated with Revolutions... usually bloody.

If the Ruling Elite and Billionaire Class don't address this developing situation with practical solutions in the near-term, then (I predict, based on historical precedent) that this will NOT end well for said Elites.

The current monetary and financial system has reached a breaking point and, if it is not proactively fixed, it will eventually be overthrown.

One clear example of the obnoxious and increasingly intolerable inequality is in the CEO-to-Worker compensation ratio (see graph).

Hope in the future of America is fading... and many lower income Americans are growing desperate.

In light of this and many other large (and widening) discrepancies, here are Five Fixes for the Ruling Elite and Billionaire Class to strongly consider (and quickly implement):

1. C-suite executives at all public and private US companies should immediately institute policies to lower their compensation packages and/or raise their Workers' compensation packages, in order to reach a CEO-to-Worker ratio of 30-to-1, or less.

2. Though long considered "untouchable," Social Security needs to be intelligently adjusted. I know many wealthy American seniors who neither need nor even want to receive Social Security payments, and would actually be relieved if their payments went instead to their fellow Americans who are suffering financially. -- SOLUTION: Immediately phase-out Social Security payments to senior Americans in the highest income deciles and transfer these same payments to younger Americans in the lowest income deciles.

3. A progressive (income-based) student debt jubilee. -- While I believe strongly in general debt repayment obligations, many recent college graduates are straddled with large levels of debt while available jobs are vanishing. Negative income and a negative net worth cannot be survived for long, as even basic food and shelter needs become out of reach. This becomes an impossible situation to navigate... eventually leading to desperate (likely violent) actions. -- Such hopelessness and aggression are already manifest in high and rising rates of drug and alcohol usage, riots, suicide, and homicide.

4. Disincentivize ownership of multiple homes. -- Many younger Americans are simply priced out of home ownership, while many older Americans own two or more homes. This discrepancy is increasingly insufferable to younger Americans. -- SOLUTION: Americans can easily be disincentivized to own more than one home through tax policy. Doing so would cause many older Americans to try to sell their additional homes, increasing market supply, and decreasing prices to a reasonable level.

5. Increase the progressive Death Tax for the ultra-wealthy. -- Allow entrepreneurial Billionaires and (soon) Trillionaires to enjoy the fruits of their labors while they are alive, but then let the living standards of all Americans be raised upon their passing. Multi-generational family dynasties are over-rated and generally unproductive. -- SOLUTION: Directly transfer progressive Death Tax proceeds to lower income Americans. Make these transfer payments open-source, so everyone can watch the benefits of the inventive and industrious citizens accrue to all Americans.

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Finally, I believe that the coming Age of AI and Robotics will only accelerate the above-mentioned trends and accentuate the need for shrewd and well-timed solutions.

It is time for the Ruling Elite and Billionaire Class to act while they still can, or (as history shows) the Worker Class will rise up and do the dirty work for them.

Cypherpunk Cinema 3mo ago

Agree with your what Dr. Jeff - disagree with your how. As such, you can't critique without standing on a box: here's the box.

1. Can't comment on the C-Suite executives 30-to-1 but like it. Additionally I'd implement a removal of . Why? Because if companies can focus on adding value - period - to all people they serve, they will be better for it. If you employees WANT to be your customers and not just your shareholders, the feedback loop feels like it will be positive.

2. Phase one SS completely. 100%. Overflow payments are required to be made by people in government, who's earnings and expenditures must be capped at their government salary rate. No one in government, who makes policy and affects change like they do with insider info, should be able to profit off of that information (as they do now.) Every government job is capped at your salary rate. Anything earned above that rate goes directly to paying off the national debt. You're a "public servant." Act like it. You work for us, not the other way around.

3. Disagree on the debt Jubilee. We can incentivize with low-pay government jobs that offer a 1:1 additional payoff so they can earn $ but then get extra $ paid toward their loans -- but it's gotta be a work / value transfer. If people get something for nothing, they're ungrateful and spoilt. See also, everything happening in the US right now...

4. I like this one, but I'd go further and disincentivize companies first. Companies should face huge tax implications, not be able to write off anything related to single-family housing or multi-family housing that's not 10+ families. The incentive needs to be optimizing their current businesses, not just acquiring more property to watch it appreciate.

5. Aspects of this are interesting, but I think this should be more of a social push than a government one. If we can get governments and people to be more service oriented, i think we could have more ideas -- like Saylor doing grants for people looking to start businesses or whatever -- vs. giving the money to lower-income people. There is a group of people in the middle of the bell-curve who want to be told what to do. And there are groups at the top and bottom who want to build. We need to find the builders. The people who can make 2+2=5. Give it to them. How do we find them - that's the next question to ponder...

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