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.
