FORMER UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT’S ADVISER NOW PLAYS SAME ROLE FOR TRUMP

            “In December 2013 Russian leaders made financial aid to [Ukrainian President Viktor] Yanukovych’s government contingent upon clearing the streets of protestors. The government’s subsequent escalation of repression – first the suspension of the rights to assembly and free expression in January 2014, and then the mass shooting of protestors in February – turned the popular movement into a revolution. On February 22 [2014], Yanukovych fled to Russia. (Two years later, his political strategist, Paul Manafort, would resurface in the US, playing the same role for [billionaire presidential candidate] Donald Trump.)”

Timothy Snyder, “The Wars of Vladimir Putin,” New York Review of Books, June 9, 2016. Timothy Snyder is the Housum Professsor of History at Yale University. His most recent book is Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning.

MIDDLE-AGE WHITES DYING AT INCREASING RATES

“Last fall [2015], two Princeton economists released a study showing that, since the turn of the [21^st] century, middle-aged white Americans—primarily less educated ones—have been dying at ever-increasing rates. This is true of no other age or ethnic group in the United States. The main factors are alcohol, opioids, and suicide—an epidemic of despair. A subsequent Washington Post story showed that the crisis is particularly severe among middle-aged white women in rural areas. In twenty-one counties across the South and the Midwest, mortality rates among these women have actually doubled since the turn of the century. Anne Case, one of the Princeton study’s co-authors, said, “They may be privileged by the color of their skin, but that is the only way in their lives they’ve ever been privileged.”

“According to the Post, these regions of white working-class pain tend to be areas where [Donald] Trump enjoys strong support. These Americans know that they’re being left behind, by the economy and by the culture. They sense the indifference or disdain of the winners on the prosperous coasts and in the innovative cities, and it is reciprocated. Trump has seized the Republican nomination by finding scapegoats for the economic hardships and disintegrating lives of working-class whites, while giving these voters a reassuring but false promise of their restoration to the center of American life. He plays to their sense of entitlement, but his hollowness will ultimately deepen their cynicism.”

George Packer, “Head of the Class,” a Talk of the Town essay in the New Yorker,
May 16, 2016.

WORLD REPORT FINDS AMERICANS LESS HAPPY

“ . . .  the U.S. doesn’t just have income inequality. It has happiness inequality, too. The report [of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network] found that the gap between the most and least-happy Americans was significant: We came in 85th out of 157 countries.

“There is a very strong message for my country, the United States, which is very rich, has gotten a lot richer over the last 50 years, but has gotten no happier,” Jeffrey Sachs, head of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, which developed the report, told Reuters. “The message for the United States is clear. For a society that just chases money, we are chasing the wrong things. Our social fabric is deteriorating, social trust is deteriorating, faith in government is deteriorating.”

Martha C. White, “Why Americans Have Gotten a Lot Less Happy Over the Past Decade,” Time magazine, March 16, 2016, Money Section.

AVERAGE HOURLY EARNINGS ROSE 2.56 PERCENT IN 2015

“It is worth noting that this doesn’t necessarily mean that pay is rising by that much for the typical worker. After all, the pay for chief executives and other highly paid people counts in those compensation numbers.

“Still, paired with other evidence, it doesn’t look as if this is solely a phenomenon of the highest-paid workers making more. For example, average hourly earnings for non-managerial private sector workers rose 2.56 percent in 2015 in a year of very low inflation. That number was only 1.69 percent in 2012, when inflation was higher.”

Neil Irwin, “Workers Are Getting a Bit More of the Economic Pie,” New York Times, May 3, 2016 [in print May 6, 2016, page B1].

EVICTED RENTER KILLED HIMSELF

“Evictions are brutal. [Matthew] Desmond watches as an armed deputy knocks and a mother pleads vainly for time. The mover says she can pay to store her possessions or have them left on the street. She can’t afford storage. ‘Curbside service, baby!’ the mover tells the crew. Three children watch their mother pace. ‘Her face had that look,’ Desmond writes. ‘The movers and the deputies knew it well. It was the look of someone realizing that her family would be homeless in a matter of hours.’ One woman from the trailer park spent $1,000 on the storage bills but fell behind and lost her belongings anyway. About 70 percent of evicted tenants who opt for storage do. A week earlier, a man asked the deputy for a private moment, then shot himself in the head.”

Jason DeParle, “Kicked Out in America,” a review in the New York Review (March 10, 2016, pp:25-27) of Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, by Matthew Desmond.

COMPANIES HAVE TO PAY MORE

“Part of the reason corporate profits are falling appears to be that companies are having to pay their employees more.

“Hiring has been quite strong over three years, with millions of Americans getting jobs. That has pushed the unemployment rate steadily downward, to about 5 percent. Very gradually, a labor market that was very much tilted in favor of employers is tilting the other way.

“That means companies are having to work harder to attract good employees. They do that by paying higher wages and salaries (up 10 percent in 2015 compared with 2013) and more generous benefits package (up 6 percent over the two-year period).”

Neil Irwin, “Workers Are Getting a Bit More of the Economic Pie,” New York Times, May 3, 2016 [in print May 6, 2016, page B1].

PROPORTION OF NATIONAL INCOME FOR WORKERS HAS RISEN

“At the start of 2013 . . .  61 percent of national income went to pay and benefits for workers. But by the end of 2015, that had risen to 62.6 percent. (That said, in the early 1990s, that figure was around 66 percent.)

“If the proportion of national income going to workers in early 2013 had stayed constant, there would now be $251 billion a year less flowing into Americans’ paychecks than is the case. That is about $1,900 a year per household.”

Neil Irwin, “Workers Are Getting a Bit More of the Economic Pie,” New York Times, May 3, 2016 [in print May 6, 2016, page B1].

WORKERS ARE GETTING A BIT MORE OF THE ECONOMIC PIE

“American workers are reaping fewer of the gains of a growing economy in the form of pay and benefits. Shareholders are reaping more in the form of corporate profits. That shift has been one of the most important economic stories of the last several decades, and it is the key to understanding stagnant wages for middle-class workers and a soaring stock market in the last quarter-century.

“Here is what is less widely understood: That trend appears to be reversing itself.

“It is early and the reversal may not last. And it certainly hasn’t fully undone the shift underway since the 1980s. But the numbers are quite clear that in the last couple of years workers have claimed a bigger piece of the economic pie and shareholders a smaller one.

“The evidence available so far in 2016 — steady growth in wages and weak earnings for publicly traded companies — suggests that the reversal is continuing this year.”

Neil Irwin, “Workers Are Getting a Bit More of the Economic Pie,” New York Times, May 3, 2016 [in print May 6, 2016, page B1].

PARALLEL ISOLATION OF THE TOP AND BOTTOM

“ . . .  the United States has a double-edged problem — the parallel isolation of the top and bottom fifths of its population. For the top, the separation from the middle and lower classes means less understanding and sympathy for the majority of the electorate, combined with the comfort of living in a cocoon.

For those at the bottom, especially the families who are concentrated in extremely high poverty neighborhoods, isolation means bad schools, high crime, high unemployment and high government dependency.

Thomas B. Edsall, “How the Other Fifth Lives,” New York Times, April 27, 2016, Op-Ed Page.

DEMOCRATS NOW COMPETITIVE AMONG TOP 20 PERCENT

“Democrats are now competitive among the top 20 percent. This has changed the economic makeup of the Democratic Party and is certain to intensify tensions between the traditional downscale wing and the emergent upscale wing.”

Thomas B. Edsall, “How the Other Fifth Lives,” New York Times, April 27, 2016, Op-Ed Page.

WEALTHY VOTERS BECOMING INCREASINGLY DEMOCRATIC

“At the same time that lifestyle and consumption habits of the affluent diverge from those of the middle and working class, wealthy voters are becoming increasingly Democratic, often motivated by their culturally liberal views. A comparison of exit poll data from 1984 to 1988 to data from the 2008 to 2012 elections reveals the changing partisan makeup of the top quintile.

“In the 1980s, voters in the top ranks of the income ladder lined up in favor of Republican presidential candidates by 2-1. In 1988, for example, George H.W. Bush crushed Michael Dukakis among voters making $100,000 or more by an impressive 34 points, 67-33.

“Move forward to 2008 and 2012. In 2008, voters from families making $100,000 to $200,000 split their votes 51-48 in favor of John McCain, while those making in excess of $200,000 cast a slight 52-46 majority for Barack Obama.”

Thomas B. Edsall, “How the Other Fifth Lives,” New York Times, April 27, 2016, Op-Ed Page.

TOP 20 PERCENT FORM SOLID WALL AGAINST REFORM

“As the top 20 percent becomes more isolated and entrenched, reforms designed to open opportunities for those in the middle and on the bottom ‘can all run into the solid wall of rational, self-interested upper middle class resistance,” [Richard] Reeves of the [Brookings Institution] argues.”

Thomas B. Edsall, “How the Other Fifth Lives,” New York Times, April 27, 2016, Op-Ed Page.

83 PERCENT IN AFFLUENT HOMES ARE MARRIED

“ ‘Family structure, as a marker and predictor of family stability, makes a difference to the life chances of the next generation,’” [Richard] Reeves [of the Brookings Institution] writes:

“ ‘To the extent that upper middle class Americans are able to form planned, stable, committed families, their children will benefit — and be more likely to retain their childhood class status when they become adults.’

“Using 2013 census data, Reeves finds that 83 percent of affluent heads of household between the ages of 35 and 40 are married, compared with 65 percent in the third and fourth income quintiles and 33 percent in the bottom two.”

Thomas B. Edsall, “How the Other Fifth Lives,” New York Times, April 27, 2016, Op-Ed Page.

INEQUALITY GAPS SPREADING ACROSS THE RANGE OF AMERICAN LIFE

“In a September 2015 essay, ‘The Dangerous Separation of the American Upper Middle Class,’ Richard Reeves, a senior fellow at the Brookings [Institution], writes:

‘The top fifth have been prospering while the majority lags behind. But the separation is not just economic. Gaps are growing on a whole range of dimensions, including family structure, education, lifestyle, and geography. Indeed, these dimensions of advantage appear to be clustering more tightly together, each thereby amplifying the effect of the other.’

“The same pattern emerges in the case of education. Reeves cites data showing that 56 percent of heads of households in the top quintile have college or advanced degrees, compared with 34 percent in the third and fourth quintiles and 17 percent in the bottom two quintiles.

Thomas B. Edsall, “How the Other Fifth Lives,” New York Times, April 27, 2016, Op-Ed Page.

POLITICAL LEVERAGE GREATER FOR TOP 20 PERCENT

“Political leverage is another factor separating the top 20 percent from the rest of America. The top quintile is equipped to exercise much more influence over politics and policy than its share of the electorate would suggest. Although by definition this group represents 20 percent of all Americans, it represents about 30 percent of the electorate, in part because of high turnout levels.
"Equally or perhaps more important, the affluent dominate the small percentage of the electorate that makes campaign contributions."

Thomas B. Edsall, “How the Other Fifth Lives,” New York Times, April 27, 2016, Op-Ed Page.

THREEFOLD INCREASE BY THE RICH IN SPENDING ON THEIR CHILDREN

“Timothy Smeeding, a professor of public affairs and economics at the University of Wisconsin, has explored how the top quintile is pulling away from the rest of society. In an essay published earlier this year ‘Gates, Gaps, and Intergenerational Mobility: The Importance of an Even Start,’ Smeeding finds that the gap between the average income of households with children in the top quintile and households with children in the middle quintile has grown, in inflation-adjusted dollars, from $68,600 to $169,300 — that’s 147 percent.

“In an earlier paper, Smeeding and two co-authors wrote that:

“ ‘we have seen a threefold increase between 1972 and 2007 in top-decile spending on children, an increase that suggests that parents at the top may be investing in ever more high-quality day care and babysitting, private schooling, books and tutoring, and college tuition and fees.’

“The bottom line, Smeeding wrote in an email, is this:

“‘The well-to-do are isolated from the day to day struggles of the middle class and below to provide these key services (health, education, job search and other opportunities) to aid the upward mobility of their children. But the upper middle class are happy to take advantage of tax subsidies for their own housing, preschool for their kids, and saving for college which benefit them.’”

Thomas B. Edsall, “How the Other Fifth Lives,” New York Times, April 27, 2016, Op-Ed Page.

TOP FIFTH IS DISENGAGING FROM EVERYONE WITH LOWER INCOMES

“Geographic segregation dovetails with the growing economic spread between the top 20 percent and the bottom 80 percent: The top quintile is, in effect, disengaging from everyone with lower incomes.”

Thomas B. Edsall, “How the Other Fifth Lives,” New York Times, April 27, 2016, Op-Ed Page.

SERIOUS EFFECTS OF INCOME INEQUALITY

“The Continuing Increase in Income Segregation,” a March 2016 paper by Sean F. Reardon, a professor of education at Stanford, and Kendra Bischoff, a professor of sociology at Cornell, demonstrates the accelerating geographic isolation of the well-to-do — the upper middle and upper classes (a pattern of isolation that also applies to the poor, with devastating effect).

“In hard numbers, the percentage of families with children living in very affluent neighborhoods more than doubled between 1970 and 2012, from 6.6 percent to 15.7 percent.

“At the same time, the percentage of families with children living in traditional middle class neighborhoods with median incomes between 80 and 125 percent of the surrounding metropolitan area fell from 64.7 percent in 1970 to 40.5 percent.

“Reardon and Bischoff  write:

“ ‘Segregation of affluence not only concentrates income and wealth in a small number of communities, but also concentrates social capital and political power. As a result, any self-interested investment the rich make in their own communities has little chance of “spilling over” to benefit middle‐ and low-income families. In addition, it is increasingly unlikely that high‐income families interact with middle‐ and low‐income families, eroding some of the social empathy that might lead to support for broader public investment in social programs to help the poor and middle class.’”

Thomas B. Edsall, “How the Other Fifth Lives,” New York Times, April 27, 2016, Op-Ed Page.

TOP FIFTH IS SEPARATING ITSELF FROM THE REST OF US

“For years now, people have been talking about the insulated world of the top 1 percent of Americans, but the top 20 percent of the income distribution is also steadily separating itself — by geography and by education as well as by income.

“This self-segregation of a privileged fifth of the population is changing the American social order and the American political system, creating a self-perpetuating class at the top, which is ever more difficult to break into.”

Thomas B. Edsall, “How the Other Fifth Lives,” New York Times, April 27, 2016, Op-Ed Page.

SPENDING BY TOP 5 PERCENT ROSE 35 PERCENT

“There is also increasing demand from the most affluent shoppers. Spending by the top 5 percent of earners rose nearly 35 percent from 2003 to 2012 after adjusting for inflation, according to a study by Mr. Fazzari and Barry Z. Cynamon of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. For everyone else, spending grew less than 10 percent.”

Nelson D. Schwartz, “In and Age of Privilege, Not Everyone Is in the Same Boat: Companies Are Becoming Adept at Identifying Wealthy Customers and Marketing to Them, Creating a Money-Based Caste System.” New York Times, April 24, 2016, page A1.

MOST NOT LIVING THE AMERICAN DREAM

“ ‘We are living much more cloistered lives in terms of class,’ said Thomas Sander, who directs a project on civic engagement at the Kennedy School at Harvard. “We are doing a much worse job of living out the egalitarian dream that has been our hallmark.”

“Emmanuel Saez, a professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley, estimates that the top 1 percent of American households now controls 42 percent of the nation’s wealth, up from less than 30 percent two decades ago. The top 0.1 percent accounts for 22 percent, nearly double the 1995 proportion.

“But even as income inequality and the wealth gap stoke the discontent that has emerged as a powerful force in this year’s presidential election, for American business it represents something else entirely. From cruise ship operators and casinos to amusement parks and airlines, the rise of the 1 percent spells opportunity and profit.”

Nelson D. Schwartz, “In and Age of Privilege, Not Everyone Is in the Same Boat: Companies Are Becoming Adept at Identifying Wealthy Customers and Marketing to Them, Creating a Money-Based Caste System.” New York Times, April 24, 2016, page A1.

24, 2016, page A1.

VERY RICH GAINED EIGHT TIMES THOSE WITH LESS THAN $1 MILLION

“Today, ever greater resources are being invested in winning market share at the very top of the pyramid, sometimes at the cost of diminished service for the rest of the public. While middle-class incomes are stagnating, the period since the end of the Great Recession has been a boom time for the very rich and the businesses that cater to them.

“From 2010 to 2014, the number of American households with at least $1 million in financial assets jumped by nearly one-third, to just under seven million, according to a study by the Boston Consulting Group. For the $1 million-plus cohort, estimated wealth grew by 7.2 percent annually from 2010 to 2014, eight times the pace of gains for families with less than $1 million.”

Nelson D. Schwartz, “In and Age of Privilege, Not Everyone Is in the Same Boat: Companies Are Becoming Adept at Identifying Wealthy Customers and Marketing to Them, Creating a Money-Based Caste System.” New York Times, April 24, 2016, page A1.

CREATING A MONEY-BASED CASTE SYSTEM

“With disparities in wealth greater than at any time since the Gilded Age, the gap is widening between the highly affluent — who find themselves behind the velvet ropes of today’s economy — and everyone else.

“It represents a degree of economic and social stratification unseen in America since the days of Teddy Roosevelt, J. P. Morgan and the rigidly separated classes on the Titanic a century ago.

“What is different today, though, is that companies have become much more adept at identifying their top customers and knowing which psychological buttons to push. The goal is to create extravagance and exclusivity for the select few, even if it stirs up resentment elsewhere. In fact, research has shown, a little envy can be good for the bottom line.

“When top-dollar travelers switch planes in Atlanta, New York and other cities, Delta ferries them between terminals in a Porsche, what the airline calls a ‘surprise-and-delight service.’ Last month, Walt Disney World began offering after-hours access to visitors who want to avoid the crowds. In other words, you basically get the Magic Kingdom to yourself.”

“When Royal Caribbean ships call at Labadee, the cruise line’s private resort in Haiti, elite guests get their own special beach club away from fellow travelers — an enclave within an enclave.”

Nelson D. Schwartz, “In and Age of Privilege, Not Everyone Is in the Same Boat: Companies Are Becoming Adept at Identifying Wealthy Customers and Marketing to Them, Creating a Money-Based Caste System.” New York Times, April 24, 2016, page A1.

“In many ways, the rise of the velvet rope reverses the great democratization of travel and leisure, and other elements of American life, in the post-World War II era. As the Jet Set gave way to budget airlines, in places like airports and theme parks even the wealthiest often rubbed shoulders with hoi polloi.

“These days, whether the provider is a private company or a public agency, special treatment for the very rich isn’t personal, it’s business. Late last year [2015], public officials in Los Angeles agreed to lease a separate facility at LAX to a private firm that would serve celebrities or anyone else willing to pay $1,800 to skip the traffic jams and lines at the main terminals.”

Nelson D. Schwartz, “In and Age of Privilege, Not Everyone Is in the Same Boat: Companies Are Becoming Adept at Identifying Wealthy Customers and Marketing to Them, Creating a Money-Based Caste System.” New York Times, April 24, 2016, page A1.