Why Should You Care?
The United States has long been considered one of the richest countries in the world. Our GDP, or gross domestic product, totals over $20 trillion dollars.
Yet, for the vast majority of Americans, financial security is unattainable.
Over recent years, CEO-to-worker compensation has skyrocketed. In 2021, Jeff Bezzos, CEO of Amazon, took home a mind-blowing $1.6 million in compensation when the average Amazon worker only brought home $29,000, roughly the equivalent of $13.94 an hour.
Some economists now theorize that the gap between the rich and poor has grown to its largest size since before the Great Depression.
How can we argue with their theories when 2 out of 3 American adults live paycheck to paycheck? And over 38 million people across the country rely on SNAP, The Supplemental Nutritional Program, to help meet their nutritional needs.
In fact, nearly 11% of U.S households make less than $15,000 annually, which falls just above the federal poverty guideline of $13,590 for a family of 1.
And on any given night in 2021, over 360,000 people experienced sheltered homelessness and had to stay in “emergency shelters, safe havens, or transitional housing” to protect them from the elements.
At one time, Americans were taught that they could reach the financial security of their dreams through hard work and rugged determination. Now, that could not be further from the truth.
Wealth distribution in the United States has become so skewed in favor of wealthy business owners that the average American works their entire life simply to stay out of abject poverty.
Our Stance
We believe Congress must implement sweeping legislation to address the current wealth inequality seen in this country. There will be no end to discrimination if wealth continues to be distributed along the lines of location, gender, and race.
Every American has the right to quality food and shelter. It is time that corporations and billionaires pay their fair share of taxes, defense spending is reformed, and the federal budget is revisited to increase funding for social programs that work for everyone.
What Can We Do?
- Increase wealth & corporate taxes
- Raise the federal minimum wage
- Guarantee a living wage for all workers
- Implement a universal basic income (UBI)
- Promote and protect workers’ unions
- Increase access to affordable and low-cost housing
- Reevaluate and increase federal poverty guidelines so all Americans can access the social programs they need (SNAP, WIC, Utility and Cash Assistance, Medicaid, etc.)