Structural inequality has redistributed trillions from American workers to the richest

Evidence

Today, as in the 1920s, the winners under austerity remain an affl uent minority: the richest 1 percent of the population subsists primar- ily on profi trelated incomes tied to existing wealth (e.g., dividends, interest). Th e rest of the population— those who rely on income from labor alone, or the bottom 60 percent who rely on a combination of low wages and social benefi ts— has lost (Taylor and Ömer 2020). It is a defeat so thorough and so striking that the median American male worker in 2019 actually earned less in real terms than what he did in 1973. Since that year, structural inequality has robbed American workers of $2.5 trillion each year, money that fl owed directly into the hands of the few. — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 84

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Financialization raises earnings inequality across most US industries — Ken-Hou Lin & Donald Tomaskovic-Devey, Financialization and U.S. Income…, 152; The meritocracy myth masks structural inequality and justifies tech wealth — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 673; America’s extreme wealth inequality traces its roots back to slavery — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project: A New American Origin…, 596 (+10 more)

Broader Connections

• Financialization raises earnings inequality across most US industries #corroborates (0.85) — Ken-Hou Lin & Donald Tomaskovic-Devey, Financialization and U.S. Income…, 152
• Income inequality and unequal opportunity are inseparable manifestations of capitalist structure #expands (0.85) — Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, Schooling in Capitalist America, 846
• Wealth concentration has accelerated dramatically across major economies #corroborates (0.85) — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 27
• Financialization drives earnings inequality nearly as much as declining unionization #corroborates (0.82) — Ken-Hou Lin & Donald Tomaskovic-Devey, Financialization and U.S. Income…, 164
• US income inequality is dominated by top managers capturing historically unprecedented pay #exemplifies (0.82) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1755
• Inequality dimensions reflect one institutional shift toward financialization #expands (0.78) — Ken-Hou Lin & Donald Tomaskovic-Devey, Financialization and U.S. Income…, 25
• The meritocracy myth masks structural inequality and justifies tech wealth #corroborates (0.75) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 673
• Deunionization still leaves much wage inequality unexplained, pointing to financialization #corroborates (0.75) — Ken-Hou Lin & Donald Tomaskovic-Devey, Financialization and U.S. Income…, 34
• Unionization decreases income inequality by disciplining employer power #qualifies (0.72) — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 583
• World War II dramatically equalized American wealth and income #complicates (0.72) — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 939
• America’s extreme wealth inequality traces its roots back to slavery #expands (0.70) — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 596
• US inequality since 1970 grew mostly within rather than between industries #complicates (0.70) — Ken-Hou Lin & Donald Tomaskovic-Devey, Financialization and U.S. Income…, 63
• Hierarchical labor shapes inequality through consciousness, not just wages #expands (0.70) — Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, Schooling in Capitalist America, 904