Sandhusker
Well-known member
It makes you wonder what would of happened had Bush's call for reform and additional regulations on Fannie and Freddie not been blocked by the Democrats, doesn't it, Reader?
Sandhusker said:It makes you wonder what would of happened had Bush's call for reform and additional regulations on Fannie and Freddie not been blocked by the Democrats, doesn't it, Reader?
Getting Ahead in America
RON HASKINS
America's familiar debate over income inequality conceals and confuses at least as much as it reveals. To hear most journalists and activists tell the story, our country is the scene of a rampant and long-running economic travesty, as the rich grow richer, the poor grow poorer, and the distance between them belies the promise of America even in times of prosperity. As President Barack Obama put it during his 2008 campaign: "While some have prospered beyond imagination in this global economy, middle-class Americans as well as those working hard to become middle class are seeing the American Dream slip further and further away."
Such arguments are generally marshaled in the cause of expanding social-welfare programs aimed at transferring wealth from the rich to the poor, thereby combating both poverty and inequality. Opponents of such programs have usually not engaged the inequality argument directly, instead contending against the growth of government or pointing to the failure of some welfare programs to achieve their stated aims.
But in so arguing, both sides too often miss the point. Those enraged by inequality tend to be careless with their statistics, often painting a distorted picture of American life. Their opponents have accepted these false premises, rejecting only the solutions the outraged wish to pursue. Both sides ignore the real threat to the American Dream.
What, then, should policymakers do to help spur economic mobility in America? In our recently completed book, Creating an Opportunity Society, my Brookings colleague Isabel Sawhill and I argue that the latest data and analyses of this vexed question point to a familiar answer: that the best way to increase opportunity is to encourage strong families, more education, and full-time work.