From Inequality Media: Trump's Gilded Age obsession
By ROBERT REICH
Donald Trump wants you to think that he’s bringing back the “Golden Age” of economic prosperity of the 1950s and 1960s. But in reality, he’s dragging us toward something else: the Gilded Age of the 1890s.
Pop quiz: Would you prefer dirty meat, or meat that's safe to eat? Deadly working conditions and no weekends off, or safe working conditions and seeing friends on a Saturday?
If you picked dirty meat and deadly work conditions, well, then the Gilded Age is the choice for you! But seriously, nobody wants this, except apparently, Donald Trump.
That’s because the Gilded Age was dominated both economically and politically by a privileged elite – at the expense of everyone else.
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You may not be surprised to know, the biggest difference was worker power.
In the three decades that followed World War Two, America created the largest middle class the world had ever seen. During those years, the earnings of the typical American worker doubled, just as the size of the American economy doubled.
By 1954, 35% of American workers were union members, corporate taxes were around 50%, and the top marginal tax rate on the wealthiest Americans was 91%.
That is exactly what Trump and his Republican allies want to roll back. He wants the rich to be richer, unions to be weaker, and everyone else to be easier to exploit.
So next time you hear him talking about how much wealthier Americans will be, remember that he’s not talking about you.
And thank you for sharing this week’s video on your social media so we can get the word out to as many people as possible!
Robert Reich
Inequality Media
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