Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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THIS WEEK WITH MARGARET by MARGARET DICKSON The fi rst things many Americans did after members of Congress held their noses and passed a rise in the United States’ debt ceiling was heave a sigh of massive relief. The next sound in our nation was a collective snort of disgust. After months of posturing, name-calling, grandstanding with the eyes of the world upon us which ultimately culminated in a literal fi nal hours compromise that no one likes, the dirty deed was done. The fi nancial repercussions of this ugly chapter in our history remain cloudy, but what is clear is that, as my father would say, the rich are indeed getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, relatively speaking. His is a sentiment we have all heard before, and we may well put more stock in it during these days of our troubled economy in which news stories tell us about both bankers and corporate CEOs with bonuses in the millions and other Americans who are struggling to keep their homes out of foreclosure and food on their tables. It just does not seem, to use a word every child utters to parents at some point, “fair.” Fair or not, it appears to be true. What we are talking about here is wealth, not income. Winning the lottery will skew one’s income for at least a year and perhaps longer, but wealth is a more basic measure than income. It is the value of what you own, your assets, less the value of what you owe, your liabilities. The more assets and fewer liabilities you have, the higher your wealth. Conversely, fewer assets and more liabilities translate into less wealth, and sometimes, no wealth at all. There is enough data out there about wealth distribution in the United States and the rest of the world to send most of us running for the juiciest summer novel we can fi nd. Truth be told, it is dry reading, and it all goes something like this. Ten years ago, ten percent of the US population owned more than 70 percent of the wealth, and the top one percent of the wealthiest folks held almost 40 percent of that wealth. On the other end of the spectrum, the bottom 40 percent of people owned only one percent of the country’s wealth. Dry, indeed, unless you are in the bottom heap trying to pull yourself into a higher category. Then it becomes personal. The data gets more concerning as you drill down on it as well. U.S. Census data in the news last month shows that wherever one is on the wealth continuum, racial wealth gaps are as wide as they have been in a quarter of a century. The translation of that is that our shaky economy has erased many of the economic gains made my minority members of our society, leaving white citizens with an average of 20 times the wealth of African Americans and 18 times that of Hispanics. None of this is a pretty picture to me. My family and I are products of free enterprise going back generations, and I am convinced that hard work and entrepreneurship is what has made our country what we are. I know, too, that while our position in the world may be shifting a bit, our economy and our culture remain the gold standard. We know that millions of people around our globe would give their eye teeth to be here with us. Various schemes have been tried since recorded history by everyone from the Romans to the Communists, and none have been successful over the long haul. Very few Americans, including this one, would support public policies aimed at such re-distribution. That being said, I cannot see how growing gaps in wealth can be good for our nation. Minds far brighter than mine have advocated the importance of a thriving middle class to our economic health, and that makes sense to me. Our American middle class began emerging during the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century and came to fruition in the years following World War II when veterans came home, got themselves educated on the GI Bill, and built the economy that made us the wealthiest and strongest nation in history. Not to support and nurture our middle class and to allow the wealth gap to grow and divide the haves and the have nots even more can only be dangerous folly, not just for those individuals and families, but for all Americans. I fear that what we have just seen during our national ordeal over raising the debt ceiling is but a warm up for the 2012 election rhetoric that is getting underway. As you think about choosing those who want to govern, ponder for yourself the importance of the American middle class and what we need to do to keep it. This is one instance in which I hope my Daddy will be wrong. MARGARET DICKSON, Contributing Writer, Up & Coming Weekly, COM- MENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly.com. THIS WEEK WITH MARGARET A Nation Dividing Online! Now Reserve Your Space! Call 484-6200 for more information. WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM AUGUST 10-16, 2011 UCW 5 Up & Coming Weekly's Up & Comin Up & Coming Weekly's Up & Comin ng Weeklys 2 2 Pocket Guide 2011 2011 www.upandcomingweekly.com ng Weeklys Pocket Guide 2011 2011 www.upandcomingweekly.com VOL. 11 VOL. 11 Online! Now