I remember I got into a huge argument with my friend after watching President Obama’s State of the Union Address in 2012, where he discussed the income inequality that prevails in our nation. I think it’s sometimes hard to explain what is “fair” to someone who is already privileged in a variety of ways. Although, the idea of “redistribution” of wealth is met with a lot fear of socialism by a lot of people (not just privileged people), people who would actually be better off if we were do move into the direction of our “ideal distribution” of wealth in America.

All I can say watching this video is that I’m terrified of the jump that the top 1% had in their income, since the 1970s. Their wealth more than tripled, while the rest of the nation suffered. What does that say for what kind of future we are headed towards?

I am not an economics major, nor can I sit here claiming that I understand how economics work in this nation. All I know is that I see this distribution of wealth, and can’t help but feel horrified. What percentage of people’s income do not even surpass their living costs? What percentage of people live paycheck to paycheck without even a dime in their savings?

I don’t know what the solution is, but I know that this is something that needs to change. We need a better understanding of how the wealth is being distributed in this country and how income is being determined.

As it looks to me, the American Dream is broken.

I post this video not with the intent of coming up with solutions or pretending to know economic policies, but with the intent of remembering. I had forgotten about the President Obama’s State of the Union Address. I had forgotten about the income inequalities. I post this video to take that step into being a citizen who cares about the state of our nation.

xx
eunice