Wealth Inequality

I just had a brief conversation on the topic with an old acquaintance that highlighted two very different views on the matter which got me thinking about the state of the distribution of economic assets in this country so I think I'll go a bit further into my thoughts. I've always looked at this country's wealth as though it were a blanket; there is more than enough to cover everyone but if someone or a group of people decide to grab more of it, there's less for the remaining population. I'd say that's very much the state of what's going on right now. The United States is the largest economy on the planet, so why is there such a vast disparity in how all of that wealth is spread around? Many say the answer to that goes back quite some time to the rise of monopolies and trusts, which was an era when, from what I can see, some circles became more aware that they can manipulate the system in their favor. Since then, it seems things have only gotten worse. In my own lifetime, I noticed quite early on that some circles, particularly conservative ones, have a strong tendency to deify the wealthy and worship what they perceive as success. They glorify the economic class they deem "job creators" and vilify the lowest rings with all sorts of horrible terms, I've often heard "leeches" being thrown around on conservative news outlets. How did this culture of wealth worship come about? I'd say it's part of the same culture that brought about the disparity itself. Many were peddled this idea that if they just work hard enough, if they just "pick themselves up by their bootstraps" then they too can join the wealthy elite that they so admire. This is, for the most part, a grand lie told for the purpose of keeping the system in place. Studies have shown that working harder will no longer allow you to climb the socioeconomic ladder, only working smarter or being part of the upper class in the first place will bring you there. This is both tragic and frustrating. Tragic, because it means that the system is broken, and frustrating because there are so many people who are dead set on keeping it that way. Even some who are so in favor of the current state of affairs are the very ones being hurt by them which is saddening in the most infuriating way, but that all begs the question of what can be done to change this? Before I go into that, I want to make it perfectly clear that I'm not anti capitalist, I'm anti corrupt corporate capitalism. I'm not against the free market, especially having grown up as my mother was running a small business of her own. I love small business, but I'm quite wary of large corporations and the billionaire class. That being said, what can be done? Many point to politicians with significant plans involving wealth taxes, and economic regulations as the answer, but I would say those are just part of the answer. That does need to happen, but what also needs to happen is a significant change in corporate culture in this country. That's the thing that I'm not so confident in seeing come about. Sure we could elect leaders that will come down hard on the corruption, but they will be met with fierce opposition. After all, why would anyone want to change the system that's benefited them so much? That brings us back to the disconnect between classes which I see as a huge part of it all. Wealth inequality is so vast in this country that socioeconomic classes are basically different worlds. Sure, sometimes classes get a peek at each other, but it's never much more than that. It certainly doesn't help that there are so many whose faith in things is so strong that they adamantly belief they will one day rise through the ranks to become what they worship. Capitalism is flawed, but that doesn't mean it can't be reigned in. I'm not saying that doing so will be easy, after all there will be a whole lot of learning and unlearning throughout the process, but it will be worth it. I love my country, I love the people in it, and it absolutely tears my heart apart that the current economic model is so screwed up that countless swaths of my countrymen and women will live their entire lives in poverty in a nation that has told them for so long that it doesn't have to be that way. For generations America was looked at as a promise land of sorts. It was thought of as a place where anyone could make it, the land of the "American Dream". Sadly, that dream is dying by the hand of the very people that were able to live it, and that is sickening. I'm all for taxing the wealthy, and doing it heavily. I don't see that as "punishing success" as many people do, rather I see it as a patriotic means of helping the system to function as it was intended to. I see all of these regulations as serving a crucial function to protect consumers from being screwed over by the very economic model they were told would bring them out of poverty. I see all of these things as a means to level the playing field for the people of the nation that made it possible for corporations and billionaires to accrue their fortunes in the first place. All of these measures are a sort of "moral capitalism" in my mind. Again, if you say this is a great country, where supposedly anyone can do amazing things, I would say it's inexcusably self defeating for our economic system not to reflect that.