Money Grab

<p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>The United States is the wealthiest nation on earth though an elite ownership class primarily holds its wealth. Working-class wages have not kept up with inflation or the cost of living. As our government weighs taxation and the cost of social programs it is helpful to understand our history which </span><strong style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)><em>Money Grab</em></strong><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)> discusses - from colonial days through the Civil War. Our struggle sharing the wealth has roots in the period of reconstruction Jim Crow laws and government-imposed discrimination in housing and employment.</span></p><p></p><p><strong style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)><em>Money Grab</em></strong><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)> describes U.S. income and wealth disparity and research on the persistence of poverty and generational wealth. Our system was initially designed to tax those who can afford it and gain the greatest economic benefits. The author reviews the evolution of the tax code and the significant shifts that occurred.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>The Industrial Revolution changed how workers relate to owners. </span><strong style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)><em>Money Grab</em></strong><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)> describes how labor policy once helped but now impedes the working class from securing an economic foothold and discusses the evolution of corporations and how they are taxed. Courts have granted corporations individual rights under the Constitution giving those who control them a disproportionate voice in government and unduly influencing legislation and policy.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>Solutions require strong democratic participation. </span><strong style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)><em>Money Grab</em></strong><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)> describes democratic history and participation over centuries. U.S. democracy is 250 years old but the right to vote has only been broadly guaranteed for decades. We have lower voter participation than other developed countries leaving control to those who participate and shape the system to their benefit.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>Poverty and health are closely correlated. </span><strong style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)><em>Money Grab</em></strong><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)> discusses how the right to health and healthcare in the U.N.'s Universal Declaration of Human Rights is recognized by many developed countries excluding the U.S. Despite spending more of its GDP on healthcare than any other developed country the U.S. has worse health outcomes.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>An economically polarized society is not sustainable. </span><strong style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)><em>Money Grab</em></strong><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)> closes with recommendations on tax and other policy choices that could help overcome the income and wealth disparity in the U.S. today.</span></p>