The greatest predictors of mobility are education and the ability to own a home or other significant assets, says Carol Hedges, executive director of the CFI. One likely contributor to the state's high growth of income inequality is an influx of wealthier residents with the resources to choose where they want to live, she says.
Another is that Colorado has decreased its investment in educating the children who are born here. "It's the Colorado paradox: We import people with college degrees who can earn really good wages, but we don't do as good a job of educating our own," says Hedges. If education is unaffordable, people lack the skills they need to earn the higher wages required to sustain a family. At the same time, companies face a shortage of highly skilled workers, and have fewer consumers who are able to purchase their products. In short, everybody loses.
We need to realize that income inequality isn't just a political or even moral issue. Rather, it is an economic problem that impacts both Republicans and Democrats, business and labor, rich and poor.
Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of our state economy, which means the middle class, not wealthy business owners, are the real job creators, says Robert Reich, former labor secretary under President Clinton, in his documentary, "Inequality for All."
When we have a strong middle class, a greater number of consumers are spending money, creating a virtuous cycle where companies hire more, and the government invests more in public programs, including education, says Reich.
In addition, the traditional argument that wealthy business owners create jobs and opportunities no longer holds true: Although productivity rose more than 60 percent between 1979 and 2012, wages remained nearly flat, reports the EPI. Meanwhile, CEO pay has skyrocketed 875 percent — more than double the stock market growth during the same time period.
So while middle-class employees work longer hours to increase corporate productivity and profits, their hard work no longer translates into higher wages and increased job opportunities. That's not equality, and it's not the American dream.
Read more: Income equality is just a dream for most Americans - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_25297563/mind-gap#ixzz2vUthAoTo
