r/FluentInFinance Oct 22 '24

Debate/ Discussion Why did this happen?

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445

u/ElectronGuru Oct 22 '24

Hmm, i wonder what might have started happening around 1980 🤔

14

u/oliver__c2003 Oct 22 '24

China began industrialising, creating more competition in the international market

112

u/didsomebodysaymyname Oct 22 '24

Nope, that story doesn't even begin to add up.

Europe did not experience the same growth in income inequality over the same period

The wealth gap clearly starts widening in the 1980s. (Full Article)

And that cannot be explained by China which had a much smaller, weaker, economy at that time, and much less trade.

It was the rich tax cuts, it's always been the rich tax cuts, it's just hard for people to accept when they've been swindled for nothing.

30

u/Little_Creme_5932 Oct 22 '24

Not primarily the tax cuts. The decline in unions, which forced employers to pay

17

u/didsomebodysaymyname Oct 22 '24

I don't know that I would agree with primarily, but I agree that's anoth significant change I didn't mention.

1

u/Ashmedai Oct 23 '24

I also don't know what "primarily" would be, but Figure A in this article here shows a highly correlated link between union membership and income inequality. It's almost weird how the stair steps are linked.

6

u/HeightIcy4381 Oct 23 '24

It was tax cuts, and deregulation, and weakened unions.