@Cycloptichorn,
Cycloptichorn wrote:It absolutely, 100% does not. I would remind you that this gap GREW during the last 8 years, in a period in which job losses were not a significant factor in personal wealth. You are asserting a falsehood.
Yes, during the 27 year period 1980 to 2007, the income gap grew as businesses hired more people, became larger, and became more profitable. However, since 2007, the income gap has grown far more rapidly as businesses became smaller, hired fewer people, and became less profitable. Particularly during the years 2008 t0 2010, the rapidly increasing size of the gap is due mostly to increasing unemployment. A private salary of zero is of course far less than a salary of $60,000 let alone a salary of several hundred thousand.
I, with an income of less than $50,000 per year, am happy and thankful for those business owners and investors whose incomes grow, because their businesses hire more people, become larger, and become more profitable. Such business owners and investors help us all including employees, other businesses, and our economy to grow.
Attempts to close the income gap by government redistributing wealth will serve at best to make private businesses shrink, hire fewer people, and become less profitable. The only people who are made better off--for a while--by such attempts are those in government seeking to make their power over other humans grow.
Quote:ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/suppl/empsit.cpseea1.txt
Year……TOTAL US CIVIL EMPLOYMENT
1980……………..99 million [CARTER]
1988…………… 115 million [REAGAN]
1992…………….118 million [BUSH41]
2000……………137 million [CLINTON]
2007………..….146 million [BUSH43]
2008………….. 145 million [BUSH43]
2009,……….....140 million [OBAMA]
2010.……………139 million [OBAMA] (as of September 2010 and not final year of term)
