Plutocrats torched the economy: Our new Gilded Age & the hollowing out of America’s middle class
Tackling inequality isn't just a moral necessity -- it's an economic one, author-expert David Madland tells Salon
Recently, Salon spoke over the phone with Madland about his book, inequality, and what he sees as the right economic agenda for liberalism in the 21st century. Our conversation is below and has been edited for clarity and length.
When did you start thinking about a strong middle class as not only a good thing unto itself but as a necessary component of keeping the U.S. economy healthy?
It actually started way back when I was in high school.
I coached baseball camps throughout the summers, and I had this sense that in the more middle-class neighborhoods where we would do the camps — because we would move all around — things worked better. The kids would immediately trust each other and knew how to work together well. So I had this germ of an idea, way back then, that there was something about a strong middle class that led to better outcomes.
What kind of outcomes do you have in mind?
One of the key things is that a strong middle class leads to greater trust, and trust might seem a bit abstract, but, really, it’s essential to any functioning economy and society. You need to be able to work with people that you don’t already know, that aren’t part of your family, etc.
You can see over the past several decades that trust has declined sharply in the U.S., and a key factor in that has been rising inequality, because people have far different experiences — or they don’t think others are like them.
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When did you start thinking about a strong middle class as not only a good thing unto itself but as a necessary component of keeping the U.S. economy healthy?
It actually started way back when I was in high school.
I coached baseball camps throughout the summers, and I had this sense that in the more middle-class neighborhoods where we would do the camps — because we would move all around — things worked better. The kids would immediately trust each other and knew how to work together well. So I had this germ of an idea, way back then, that there was something about a strong middle class that led to better outcomes.
What kind of outcomes do you have in mind?
One of the key things is that a strong middle class leads to greater trust, and trust might seem a bit abstract, but, really, it’s essential to any functioning economy and society. You need to be able to work with people that you don’t already know, that aren’t part of your family, etc.
You can see over the past several decades that trust has declined sharply in the U.S., and a key factor in that has been rising inequality, because people have far different experiences — or they don’t think others are like them.
Mais
Livro
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