Eric Cantor would have us believe we all have an equal chance at having significant wealth

...but it looks to me more and more like the wealthy have a strangle hold on the means to become wealthy.

Just take a look at this chart from a WSJBlog post (http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2011/09/16/the-top-5-grabbed-most-of-the-americas-gains/)

 

 

The bottom 60 percent of households actually had less wealth in 2009 than in 1983, meaning they did not participate at all in the growth of wealth over this period.

 

Eric Cantor would have us believe that anyone who is wealthy is so because they worked harder and are smarter than the rest of us. This is undoubtedly true of some.

 

But consider these factors that can skew the distribution of wealth:

• The rich are able to influence government disproportionately in their favor thereby increasing their wealth (tax policies that shift the burden to middle and lower income tax payers; deregulation of the financial sector). The Citizens United decision has amplified this factor.
• Being rich can lead to being given high income jobs regardless of merit (also large bonuses, golden parachutes, etc)
• Being rich means spending a smaller percentage of income on everyday necessities and being able to save/invest more
• Wealth can be inherited; the wealthy can afford to send their children to elite schools which lead to higher paying jobs for them

It looks like most of us are becoming more realistic about our chances of becoming millionaires. (http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2011/09/19/what-are-your-chances-of-becoming-a-millionaire/)

But  becoming millionaires isn't really what most of us aspire to.  Most of us aspire to living in a country where we all have jobs that allow us to live comfortably; where everyone's children get a good education; where those who are down on their luck get a helping hand; where health care is affordable and of good quality; where those who have worked all their lives are secure in their retirement years; and where the air we breathe, water we drink and food we eat will sustain our health. This is what the current political situation in the US has put in jeopardy.

Involved Voters will tell Eric Cantor and like-minded Republicans we aren't buying his solutions - more of the same policies that have fostered the shift in wealth and have damaged the fabric of our country.