S01E17 Jim Steele, Politics of the U.S. Economy
American Economic Inequality at Record Levels
Fairer Tax System, Better Health Care Can Restore the Middle Class
January 31, 2021 – The gap between the rich and poor in America is at levels not seen in more than a century as the nation wrestles -- both politically and economically -- over the question of public welfare versus private gain, a legendary investigative reporter said Sunday.
James B. Steele told the Retail Politics Podcast with Gerry Shields that tax breaks to the rich over the last 40 years has cut their individual contributions to the federal government in half while corporate tax rates have fallen 30 percent.
Those rates must be restored if the gap between the haves and have nots is to be closed, said Steele, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner who along with his reporting partner, Don Barlett, wrote the seminal book, America, What Went Wrong?
“What makes America great is certainly capitalism but also the fact that we have the kind of economy that could eventually benefit everybody,” Steele said.
The shift from a factory driven economy to retail sector has caused wages for the middle class to plummet, Steele said, with the minimum wage not being raised since 2009. The American economy has shifted to being driven by business and the markets away from government direction to ensure all Americans benefit, he said.
A giant crippler to the economy is the cost of health care with 20 million Americans still without the ability to affordably pay for their illnesses, much of which was once paid by employers, Steele said. Four in 10 Americans, if required due to a health emergency, could not raise $400, he said.
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Listen to the Jim Steele Retail Politics Podcast with Gerry Shields interview on Apple, Spotify and retailpoliticspodcast.com