Matthew Stewart believes the .01%–the billionaires–run the Economy for their own benefit. However, the top 9.9% also influences American culture. In the Past, the 9.9% might have been considered “Middle Class”. With income inequality in America now forcing more people to live near the poverty line, the 9.9% should be considered Upper Class.
So, why should we care about income inequality? According to Stewart: ” In 2016, 46% of Trump supporters knew or suspected that Hillary Clinton was involved in a child sex right that operated in the back of a pizza restaurant; 43% maintained that human beings did not evolve from any other species; 39% said the Stock Market went down under Obama; 27% accepted as fact that vaccines cause autism; and 25% thought Ted Cruz just might be the Zodiac Killer.” (p. 250).
Our broken educational system–especially during the Pandemic–deprives students from gaining the skills and knowledge that would give them access to well-paying jobs. It would also provide them with reasoning skills to arm them against Fake News and Alternative Facts so they’re harder to infect with dangerous, deadly beliefs. “This is a country where people actually debated whether the Covid-19 virus could be traced back to women having sex with demons or if it was all due to the use of ground-up alien DNA in medicines.” (p. 251)
Matthew Stewart shows how symbolic conflicts over identity –mask or no mask–deflects the needed analysis into income inequality. It’s no accident that most Trump supporters lacked college educations, worked low-pay service jobs, and got most of their “information” from FOX NEWS and conservative Facebook accounts. Unless we fix this problem, Stewart says we’ll see the same dynamic in 2024.
Do you see increasing inequality where you live? GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Who We Are — 1
Why We Have Such Amazing Children — 25
Why We Get Along So Well with the Other Sexes — 47
Why We Are So Highly Educated — 67
Why Our Neighborhoods Are the Best — 97
Why We Believe in Merit — 119
Why We Make So Much Money — 151
Why We Are So Fit — 181
Why Other People Are So Racist — 207
Why Everyone Is So Unreasonable — 237
How We Might Get a Clue — 269
Acknowledgements — 291
Notes — 293
Index — 329
Your title is typo’d as it currently stands, George. THE 99% might well be the new edition of Harry Harrison’s MAKE ROOM! MAKE ROOM! (Make Soylent Green not war.)
Increasing income disparity is certainly all over the US, hence much of the willingness to walk away from bad jobs that weren’t already having major layoffs during the pandemic…blatantly risk your life while wasting it for a pittance! The American Way!
The dumbing-down of schools is not new…defunding them and making sure they dare not teach much of anything is already a long tradition in this country. I attended mostly “better than average” schools, at least one “elite” school, and the content of our educational materials and instruction in the ’70s and earliest ’80s was hemmed-in, unchallenging, uninspiring, and largely devoted to rote memorization…and this in middle-class suburbs, and the pattern broken mostly in college-level AP classes I took in my senior year of a private school, and then only fitfully. I can only suspect that most other classrooms were doing no better and often worse.
And this was before kids were taught for testing purposes, presumably even more rote and constrained approaches.
Todd, your analysis is right on the money! Our education system is broken, our medical system is broken, and our political system is broken. Harry Harrison’s MAKE ROOM! MAKE ROOM! turned out to be prophetic.
Is much of his argument about how the upper-middle-class/comfortable elite is trying very hard to justify their relative security and self-reward while the rest are comparatively suffering? The chapter titles suggest as much. Much as how the Democratic Party is going to need to realize that status quo/milking the corporate teats is not going to cut it in 2022 any more than 2024, particularly as their lack of a clue to this reality has lost them so many state and local positions and thus allowing the nutbars in the GOP to run wild in way too many states and localities, allowing the latter to go for the voter rights restrictions and other measures (gerrymandering not the least of them but not alone) that are going to help them keep the GOP in place and screwing things up, even if the Republicans manage to shed Trump to any sane degree.
Todd, Matthew Stewart provides evidence of the Rich manipulating the System so they’re secure…but everybody else isn’t. The Pandemic showed the flaws in our medical system vividly. Most of the almost million victims of Covid-19 were not Rich.
Ted Cruz as the Zodiac Killer? Hmm. I can see that.
Jerry, Ted Cruz is a minion of the Rich.
Yeah, I’m with Jerry on that one too. Cruz is probably one of the aliens from MEN IN BLACK, actually. There is something alien about him.
As for the rest, I’d say it’s too late. As the late Bill Crider would have said, we’re doomed. And as Deb so often says, once they drink the MAGA Kool-Aid, there is no coming back.
Jeff, the Life Expectancy of Americans is dropping because of the Pandemic and Opioid addictions. Today’s BUFFALO NEWS has an article on how even a mild case of Covid-19 can stress the patient’s heart. Yikes!
Accurate, but depressing as hell—especially in light of this week’s passage of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Florida and the “Allowing Your Trans-Gender Child to Transition Is Child Abuse” law in Texas. Sometimes I’m glad I’m old, but I fear for the world left behind for my smart, socially-aware, compassionate, and caring children.
Deb, the “Don’t Say Gay” bill and the “Allowing Your Trans-Gender Child to Transition is Child Abuse” law along with the Critical Race Theory bans are simply distractions from the fact that the number of people suffering from “Food Insecurity” is growing. It also distracts from rising prices and what will soon be $4 a gallon gasoline.
I wish I could think of something pithy and useful to say about all this but it’s just not there. So….First kill all the Republicans. That’s all I got. Let the slaughter begin.
Michael, all the super conservative Republicans are in Florida for CPAC. What will Trump say about his buddy Putin?
Sounds to me like a perfect time to nuke Florida.
Michael, I’m guessing no one at CPAC is wearing masks or social distancing. Maybe Omicron AB2 might find some conservatives to infect…
Dare I say, unions may not be perfect but they created the middle class in this country. My sisters, my mother and I were all public school teachers and have been able to have the American dream. True, we’re not millionaires or billionaires but who cares. Building up the middle class is the way to achieve better income equality. Bring back a strong union movement and, of course, fix the broken education, health and political systems.
Jackie
Jackie, I totally agree with you on unions. Sure, they’re not perfect, but they did bring about workplace changes that we all benefit from: less child labor, heath and safety protections, pensions, and the ability to negotiate contracts. Without unions, it’s just Survival of the Fittest…
From now on, just put in Michael’s comment, then add “and Rick agrees”.
That said, I worked a 40 year career in Social Services, from mail clerk to program manager, when public service paid well below private sector jobs. I’m white, comfortably retired, have a nice home, can eat what I want (considering my Diabetes). So, do I need to feel guilty because long years of hard work allow this? That’s why I don’t read these books, I don’t need to feel guilty on general principles.
Rick, Matthew Stewart focuses on the economic trends that are in motion to increase inequality. The Future as Stewart forecasts is a grim place for all of us.
What a load of horeshit!
Bob, the economic statistics don’t lie.
Statisticians do.
Michael thinks this would be a good time to nuke Florida. Even though I live there, I’m tempted to agree.
Jerry, what ever happened to NO NUKES!