~ EIWIYAYCEHSDAPDPC ~ Economic Inequalities Which Increase Year After Year Can Eventually Have Socially Divisive And Potentially Disastrous Political Consequences

~ EPIATEOD ~ Elite Political Influence And The Erosion Of Democracy

~ IIIGTT1%MRTIITPPATETTOM ~ Increasing Income Inequality Gives The Top 1 Percent More Resources To Intervene In The Political Process And To Ensure That Their Opinions Matter

TICETPASPOTVAAQDFTOTGP-DT-‘TT’-A-PI-A-TOOPMO-GTWTATPTPOV-IAWOPCM ~ There Is Clear Evidence The Political And Social Preferences Of The Very Affluent Are Quite Different From Those Of The General Population – Donations To – “Think Tanks” – And – Policy Institutes – And – The Ownership Of Private Media Outlets – Give The Wealthy The Ability To Push Their Point Of View – In A Way Ordinary People Cannot Match

~ IG-IDNTMMTMABDITLOPWHVL ~ In General – It Does Not Take Much Money To Make A Big Difference In The Lives Of People Who Have Very Little

~ TOCSOTLA-A-TWTPVHIR-CAOFP-TFTS-TCHAMHCFTLAMTGLECFTAI ~ The Occasional Cash Shortfalls Of The Less Affluent – And – Their Willingness To Pay Very High Interest Rates – Create An Opportunity For Profit – The Fact That Short-Term Credit Has A Much Higher Cost For The Less Affluent Means They Get Less Effective Consumption From Their Annual Incomes

~ AWAC? ~ And What About Chance?

~ EOTPDIORAMLOE-VW-F-9T47%-OAJ-ETL-EE-WBABHFTLM-TU ~ Estimates Of The Possible Disruptive Impacts Of Robots And Machine Learning On Employment – Vary Widely – From – 9 To 47 Per Cent – Of All Jobs – Even The Low-End Estimate – Would Be A Big Hit For The Labour Market – Technological Unemployment

~ BIMAHTBHRITCATBMF-TAAOBHRFACITPROADG ~ Because Individuals Must Actually Have Their Basic Human Rights If Their Choices Are To Be Meaningfully Free – The Actual Achievement Of Basic Human Rights For All Citizens Is The Primary Responsibility Of A Democratic Government

~ E-VWNANMITPMWTTTEFS ~ Eventually – Voters Whose Needs Are Not Met In The Political Mainstream Will Turn To The Extremes For Solutions

~ IICIEIAGSS-ASME-SDOART-‘GOD’-A-LFSWTDNM ~ Increasing Inequality Causes Increased Economic Instability And Greater Social Stress – Authoritarian Social Movements Emerge – Selling Dreams Of A Return To – “Good Old Days” – And – Looking For Scapegoats When They Do Not Materialize

~ STEPTPI-‘MG’-B-TPCHTDEGFTWNI-TWBARSFNSTB ~ Since The Easiest Policy To Promise Is – “More Growth” – But – That Promise Cannot Hope To Deliver Enough Growth For Those Who Need It – There Will Be A Relentless Search For New Scapegoats To Blame

~ AHRPDNSTESHEI-B-IDSTESHER-A-FTTH-ACMHALAMCOER ~ A Human Rights Perspective Does Not Say That Everyone Should Have Equal Income – But – It Does Say That Everyone Should Have Equal Rights – And – For That To Happen – All Citizens Must Have At Least A Minimum Command Over Economic Resources

~ WAOTA-STWUADISCTWOI-C ~ We All Own The Air – So Those Who Use And Degrade It Should Compensate Those Who Own It – Citizens

~ GAI-B-TIANLOWTIAFIWRCMTRWMTSTWC-PJMBS ~ Guaranteed Annual Income – Because – There Is A New Level Of Worry That In A Future In Which Robots Can Make The Robots Which Make The Stuff That We Consume – Paying Jobs May Be Scarce

~ WWTCDCFTATOFTAFOTF? ~ Where Will The Consumer Demand Come From To Absorb The Output From The Automated Factories Of The Future?

~ AMPWUMWAACOSVITMOTWIWPANCTS-AVOATCOCOTE-ANPJ ~ A Major Problem With Using Market Wages As A Criterion Of Social Value Is That Many Of The Ways In Which People Actually Now Contribute To Society – As Volunteers Or As The Caretakers Of Children Or The Elderly – Are Not Paying Jobs

~ FTATT ~ Fairer Taxes At The Top

~ TAATE-ALITTGP-B-TCOTLPMPDOTAATLPTETA ~ Tax Avoidance And Tax Evasion – Are Largely Invisible To The General Public – Because – The Complexity Of Tax Law Precludes Much Public Discussion Of The Accounting And Tax Law Provisions That Enable Tax Avoidance