Snobs and Elites

Another article wherein Rick Santorum is seen engaging in class warfare. He bases his argument (if you can call it that) on the idea that education and a belief in healthcare for all equate with a form of elitism that President Obama and Mitt Romney have, and still do, engage in. Can access to healthcare for all really be seen as an elite invention? How does encouraging students to continue on to college make the President a "snobbish elite"? I think you'll see that Santorum is utilizing his own assumptions about the people of America in his rhetoric, in which case, how can anyone in a position of power ever hope to escape the trap of "elitist" thinking and speaking?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/rick-santorums-war-against-the-elite/2012/02/28/gIQAxFn0gR_story.html

Politics of inequality

In this article Jonathan P. Baird discusses how he believes the issue of income inequality has been largely ignored by politicians.There is little political focus on the idea of the 1% and the 99% and he argues that the preservation of the liberty of the billionaires (to buy election through citizens united, no less) has been of top priority while the preservation of equality has been met with ideas that society needs inequality to flourish. Data which shows that equality actually helps economic growth (an argument repeated in some of the readings from this week) have been repeatedly ignored. He also contends that charges of "socialism" or "tax and spend" policies are not only not helpful, but they are flat-out mischaracterizations of the truth and ignore the fact that it has been the federal government that has repeatedly kept capitalism alive over the past century.

http://www.concordmonitor.com/article/313764/income-inequality-deserves-our-attention?SESSfd86aee004a25bf46299380938499784=google

Tableau creation

This represents my first try with the Tableu software. In response to seeing a video concerning the Fair Pay Act - the first bill President Obama signed- I was curious to see how disparities from 2009 would mactch up with 2010-2011. Not much time really, but I was expecting to see more of a difference than I found looking at the chart. It's listed state by state and it's clear the difference is bigger in some areas than others, however it's just as apparent that the pay gap is often close to 10k or so a year.

I also thought this tied in nicely with the discussion from last week concerning the idea some have about the way the market works. If the idea is that "important jobs" are paid more and everybody has the potential to work up to those jobs then why would this disparity exist at all? For minorities and immigrant populations as well? (though I didn't include those in this graph).

The sources I used to get the informatoin to construct this particular graph can be found at the bottom of this post.

(I couldn't get the embed to work properly so if you want to check it out just follow the link)
http://public.tableausoftware.com/views/paygendergap/Sheet1?:embed=y


http://www.aauw.org/learn/research/statedata/upload/gendergap2009_data.pdf

http://www.pay-equity.org/

Neoliberalism in the US

A blog with a focus on neoliberalism as it occurs in the U.S. Neoliberalism generally refers to the removal of government from what is considered non-"core" governmental duties. This refers healthcare, job protection, etc. Extreme cases of the outcomes of neoliberal policies can be seen in States like Brazil (see Vita: Life in a Zone of Social Abandonment - Joao Biehl). In essence it is a call for market control of virtually every aspect of non-governmental life with the credo that the invisible hand of the market can be expected to fix any ills in a society.



http://www.businessinsider.com/more-on-markets-and-neoliberalism-from-crooked-timber-2012-2

The West and the Rest

In this article the argument is made that for the past several decades economic inequality and global power has been shifting from west dominated to a more level playing field. What economic historian Naill Ferguson refers to as "killer apps" have influenced the western world and are now at play on much of the rest of the globe. South Africa is largely the focus in viewing how the six factors have played out in regards to a closing gap with the west. The six factors he speaks of are:

1. Competition.
2. Scientific revolution.
3. Property rights.
4. Modern Medicine. .
5. Consumer society.
6. Work ethic.

The article also (briefly) looks at how education might play in as a link between these 6 factors (though not consituting a "killer app" of its own).

http://www.moneyweb.co.za/mw/view/mw/en/page295043?oid=561861&sn=2009+Detail

Mitt Romney, the poor, and San Antonio

A frame of reference through which to view Mitt Romney's comments concerning the poor with specific regard to San Antonio.


http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Romney-s-remark-on-poor-is-full-of-holes-3001113.php

Fallout from the DOMA

It seems that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) has had very real effects in terms of inequality experienced by LGBT people in America, this is especially true for ones with children.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/more-income-inequality-for-lgbt-families/2011/03/04/gIQAMBPVsQ_blog.html