An Effective Democracy Requires a Large and Active Middle Class
Based on the title of the post, you’re probably expecting me to point out that the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer, and that our society is served very badly by the erosion of the middle class. All that is, by the way, quite true — and I’m hardly alone in my concern here, whether it’s on moral or practical grounds. Anyone with a heart — or a brain — objects to the ever-expanding discrepancy between the rich and the poor. According to a recent study, the wealthiest 20% of Americans own just over 85% of the nation’s wealth — a figure than continues to climb, leaving the other 80% growing steadily more impoverished, uninvolved, apathetic, and disenfranchised. I don’t see any long-term winners here — rich or poor. (more…)
Every few months I try to write a short piece about what I consider the mother of all threats to the quality of life here in the United States: 
