I have written endlessly on this blog about how disastrous the Republican economic policy (trickle-down) has been to this country, its economy and its citizens. This chart, from the Global Wealth Data Book, brings home my point. Among developed nations (and some Arab countries), the United States ranks last in median income (27th out of the richest 27 countries).
This does not mean that 27 nations are richer than the United States. The United States is still the richest country in the world. It's just that most of the wealth and income in the United States is in the hands of the wealthy, while it is more evenly distributed in other countries.
Median income is a sign of the health of a nation's middle class -- and the median income in the United States was once the highest in the world. But trickle-down policies have funneled most new wealth from productivity into the hands of a few rich people, while middle class wages have been stagnant. They are not getting a share of the rising productivity as they once did -- and that has resulted in a shrinking middle class and less buying power (thanks to inflation) for those still in the middle class.
The Republicans want to keep economic policy as it is. They like a policy that favors the rich. But keeping the same failed policy will just propel this country even further down the list in median incomes, and shrink our middle class even more. We should have learned by now that giving more to the rich only fattens their bank accounts -- and does nothing for the rest of America (the 99%).
The Republicans must be voted out of power so the country can return to a saner and fairer economic policy -- one that will benefit everyone, and increase the number of people enjoying a middle class lifestyle. Without a vibrant middle class, this country is going to be in serious trouble -- and that is where the GOP policies are leading us.
