Wide income inequality leads to revolutions

$15 mimimum wage better for America than millions for the rich

Seattle, Washington billionaire Nick Hanauer explains why the income inequality that is savaging America’s middle class is bad for America.

In his 2012 speech, plutocrat Hanauer explains that the economy and the country prosper more if the poor and middle class incomes increase than if the incomes of the 1% get larger.

It’s simple math: 100 million people making $50,000 a year buy more products than 100 billionaires. For example, the 50K folks buy 100 million pairs of pants. Hanauer and his fellow plutocrats can’t possibly buy and wear even 1 million pants.

Seattle increased its minimum wage to $15 an hour. Instead of creating job layoffs, it became the fastest-growing major city in America.

Trickle-down economics is about as effective as a king pooping on his subjects.

 

Hanauer was on the ground floor of Amazon.com and other ventures and hands out a lot of his fortune to Washington state charities and to support public education, which is better for America than buying another yacht or airplane, which Hanauer already has.

To read this remarkable blueprint for helping America thrive, an avoiding the pitchforks and “off with their heads” that happened throughout history when a few have so much more wealth than the many, click on http://www.ted.com/talks/nick_hanauer_beware_fellow_plutocrats_the_pitchforks_are_coming

The richest cities in America are great for the rich, but a terrible gauntlet for those less fortunate.

1.   San Francisco — You'd need $124,561 to live comfortably. 50K a year wouldn’t come close.
2. San Jose —$115,515.
3. Washington, D.C. — $108,092.
4. Seattle — $93,634.
5. San Diego —$101,984.
6. Boston — $106,082.
7. New York City —$131,365 in Brooklyn, $169,639 in Manhattan, $116,907 in Queens.
8. Los Angeles — $102,061.
9. Denver — $82,036.
10. Austin — Surprisingly, in spite of the high percentage of people earning more than $150,000, you'd need only $72,912 to be comfortable in this Texas city.