Inviting Thought
(about
Inequality)
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September,
2010
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Support Our Troops To
young Americans without employ and
lacking purpose: great adventures wait for
you in distant lands. You'll feel the joy of
rising from the dust to liberate the
nations who undoubtedly aspire to
be like us, and we'll invoke your name upon
our chariots of smoke and fire, and
in our colosseums we'll proclaim our
gratitude in song. Heroically you'll
vanquish unknown evils, in defense of
endless bounty that deservedly is
ours, and you will reinforce the sense that
for a few of us will come extremes of
wealth, for others never-ending dreams. |
Essays: Links: Project For
Social/Economic Equality Comments? |
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August, 2010
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Hegemony (A
play with Hegemon, outspoken leading man; the
innocent Subordo, from a world apart; and
simple Publico, of short attention span; and
Opulo, the merchant.) Let us start. Says
Hegemon: "It's vital that we intercede to
help you govern." Says Subordo in reply: "This
serves us well. In compensation we'll concede our
country's wealth." But as its fortunes go awry, Subordo
nominates a leader for reform. Says
Hegemon: "His record of debauchery and
greed will devastate your land. You must transform your
nation to a market-based democracy!" The
people balk, thus Hegemon's soliloquy: "Such
insolence demands that we suspend all
trade." Subordo, cast aside in misery, appeals
to Hegemon, who promises to send a
righteous leader to restore the fragile peace. Says
Publico: "You're welcome to our bank accounts!" Says
Opulo: "Our arms production must increase!" As
Hegemon prepares a gala to announce the
victory, Subordo cries, "Our homes are lost, our
land destroyed!" Says Hegemon, "We must denounce the
enemy, and then rebuild at any cost!" Says
Publico: "You're welcome to our bank accounts!" Says
Opulo: "Rebuilding? Let me calculate." And
Hegemon declares in mighty voice: "We state the
Truth -- throughout the world our message resonates!" (Then
silence, as production terminates.) |
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July, 2010
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Hedge Fund Manager He's
fifty-thousand times as valuable as
one policeman. Justifiable? He
makes enough to pay the salaries of
every teacher in New York, while fees for
basic life necessities increase. The
nation's richest one-percent, whose piece of
income pie was thick in Reagan years, has
seen it TRIPLE as these profiteers have
learned to quietly deregulate the
deals to which most people can't relate. |
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June, 2010
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Rich and Poor The
vulgar throb and throes of hunger lash the
man from deep inside: an anguished beast obeys
a primal call to wail and slash till
fading pleas for clemency have ceased. A
terse and natty lord of commerce flares his
bully nostrils in polite disdain, all
prig and peacock are the patron's airs as
fussed and flaunting windows entertain, and
puppy-eyed the urchins sniggering in
tribute to the unexpected sport. With
soundless shooing and admonishing the
man his herded masters do exhort, as
blurring shreds of his humanity are
swept into the city street's debris. |
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May, 2010
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A Fable for a Gilded Age I
recollect a party at my uncle's house, some
thirty years ago, a hundred hungry guests, and
tantalizing pie. But some began to grouse when
little Richie Leet (if memory attests) was
inexplicably allowed the biggest piece. We
couldn't argue, though, for we were satisfied with
what we had. As fate would have it - in caprice or
serendipity - my uncle would preside at
our reunion party, thirty years removed, a
hundred guests returning and a luscious pie. But
now, discretion notwithstanding, it behooved me
to complain, or short of that, to testify for
fairness: Richie's piece was bigger than before - in
fact, it nearly tripled in enormity! "No
fair!" I cried. Had Richie done some special chore to
earn his piece? The rest of us would quite agree that
we had even less than thirty years ago! My
uncle spoke at last: the years had made him weak, he
chose to step aside, and it was apropos that
Richie cut the pie himself. With this critique of
party planning sinking in, I looked around at
all the guests, and while I carefully refrained from
judgment or admonishment, without a sound they
stood and wondered why their hunger still remained. |
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April, 2010 |
Gini's Turning One And
as she grows, I wonder what's in store for
kids like mine. They're likely to explore a
world of wealth we've never seen before, a
'perfect' world. But there'll be jobs galore, apprenticing
in Gucci bag design, or
working on a Porsche assembly line, or
serving trays of caviar and wine, or
handling yacht repair and wax and shine, or
managing a loaded equity or
credit default swap delinquency, or
writing books about society approaching
perfect inequality. So
children, when your money's gone, resist the
urge to blame the rich, and raise a fist against
the foreign-looking terrorist, or
better yet against the socialist. The Gini Coefficient is a measure of
inequality: 0 means everyone shares equally; 1 means one person owns everything. Brazil
.57 (2005) .61 (1998) Mexico
.48 (2008) .53 (1998) United
States .45 (2007) .41 (1997) Russia
.42 (2008) .40 (2001) China
.42 (2007) .40 (2001) Israel
.39 (2008) .36 (2001) Japan
.38 (2002) .25 (1993) India
.37 (2004) .38 (1997) UK
.34 (2005) .37 (1999) France
.33 (2008) .33 (1995) Canada .32 (2005) .32 (1994) Italy
.32 (2006) .27 (1995) Spain
.32 (2005) .33 (1990) Korea,
South .31 (2007) .36 (2000) Europe
Union .31 (2006) .31 (1995) Australia .31
(2006) .35 (1994) Finland
.30 (2007) .26 (1991) Denmark
.29 (2007) .25 (1992) Belgium
.28 (2005) .29 (1996) Germany
.27 (2006) .30 (1994) Norway .25 (2008) .26 (1995) Sweden .23 (2005) .25 (1992) Source:
The CIA World Factbook
(https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2172.html) |
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March, 2010 |
Extreme Business Seductive
is the spectacle of trade with
no restrictions, opportunities for
everyone, a bubbling cavalcade of
swaps, derivatives, and guarantees of
profit, super yacht and private jet, and
pomp, festoon, champagne and caviar, from
Shangri-la to Xanadu, roulette a
single color in a world bizarre, like
realms concealed beneath the ocean tide. And
just outside this sea of plenitude are
progenies of plutocratic pride transacting
business, asking coins for food. |
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