Poverity and Inequality – Did you get the same raise as me?

The census bureau is reporting that median income across the nation has gone up, but the liberal media always ends the story highlighting that income inequality has increased. Now, really, let’s look at that.

A few vignettes up front:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_inequality_in_the_United_States
Definition of “income inequality” (it’s expressed in dollars)
http://blog.increa.com/2013/fairness-and-equality-and-the-common-good
A previous blog entry I wrote discussing what “fair” means.
https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/visualizations/2019/demo/p60-266/Figure7.pdf
Poverty rates have gone down a lot. Politicians like AOC say the poverty level needs to be changed so that the counts are higher. (Not ~resulting in~ higher numbers, but ~so that~ counts go higher.)
https://ocasio-cortez.house.gov/ajs
Economic inequality is one of two “greatest threats to our country and plant” and is “being used by power to amplify fear and anger” (but of course, authors not included).
https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2019/demo/p60-266.html
Asians make more than anybody. Hispanics make less that whites. Blacks make less than everybody. I often wonder if this is a cause or an effect.
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/440829-aoc-bernie-confuse-inequality-with-poverty
Ends with “Continuing to reduce poverty should by top public-policy priorities. Attacking inequality is a futile distraction.”

Let’s say you make $100,000 per year, and I make $50,000 per year. Unemployment goes down. Wages go up. We both get a raise. When I was in the military, raises were typically 1-3% per year. For easy math, let’s assume we BOTH get a 10% raise in the example. Then you would be making $110,000 per year and I would be making $55,o00 per year. Yea! This is a good thing!

Not according to the liberal report that inequality increased.  According to the liberal media; this was not fair or right. You see, you got $10,000 more and I got only $5,000 more. To reduce income inequality, I should get the same dollar amount raise, or a total of $60,000 per year. This corresponds to a 20% increase for me and a 10% increase for you.

Which is “fair” or “right”? Same percentage or same amount? Does a “fixed amount” mean fixed dollar amount or fixed percentage amount? These things matter.

The liberal view point pushing for same dollar amounts is technically un-scalable and impossible to change and therefore unworkable and deceitful to guide public policy. What I mean is this — get ready — you and I BOTH are paid less than someone else in society.

For the CEO earning $1,000,000 per year, a 10% raise would be a $100,000 raise. For the liberal view of income equality to NOT happen, you would need to have your income doubled to $200,00 per year, and I need an insane increase from $50,000 to $150,000. That is a stupid policy position that ads nothing to public discourse.  The liberal idea of identical incomes being fair can never be implemented – it is a phantom brought into the conversation only to exercise dominion and exert power over adversaries.

Therefore, the news fan-fair that inequality increases when percentage increases are the same is disingenuous and shows dishonest intent or serious lack of awareness. If a reporter wanted to be fair, they would point that although dollar gains by the rich and poor are different, the percentage increases should clearly be reported. THAT would be factual reporting.

For a later post:

The brokenness of these ideas become more obvious when reflected onto ideas of cash outflow instead of cash inflow.  Mark Cuban opines about single payer healthcare, advocating that everybody should be provided coverage for chronic health issues and accidental injuries because we all share equal risks in these areas.  Um, okay.. but he’s happy and content that different people pay different amounts.  That doesn’t sound fair.  It sounds so good to say, “We all get taken care of” until the question comes up about who should pay for it.

If we’re all so equal like Mark says, then we should all pay the same amount.  Oh, some can’t do that?  Well, then we better move toward more equal income.  And so we’re back to everybody receives according to needs and contributes according to ability.  Do you know where that concept was made famous?  Karl Max in 1875.  Socialism has been tried by many and has a miserable track record.

Until you control all about how a person chooses to spend their money outflow, you have no business mandating what their inflow should be by adjusting burden on others.  And when you DO do both, you’re into extreme socialism and communism.