“It is meaningless to middle- and low-income
families to say we have a great economy because their economy looks so much
different than folks at the top of the scale because this is an economy that is
working, but not working for everyone.” Says Jared Bernstein of the Economic
Policy Institute in Washington. Mr. Bernstein is quoted in an article in the NY Times called Report Says That the Rich Are Getting Richer Faster, Much Faster
by David Cay Johnston.

The author of the article points out that the
growth of the top 1% is growing at a faster pace than everybody else. He finds
that tax cuts and the stock market are two main reasons for the increase. But I
think it is more than that. I think that the top 1% has the ability to tap into
global wealth much easier than the rest of the US.

I can see a world where the US middle class
is no longer the heart and soul of this economic powerhouse. The reason is that
I don’t think the middle class is being challenged anymore; many of their jobs
have turned into routines. Engineering marvels are scarce these days. What
replaced them is the maintenance, or lack of maintenance, of bridges, roadways,
drainage, and utilities. Our systems are old, they are meant for another time,
but the US isn’t challenging the middle class to create a new empire. We are
half asleep in our current one.