Financial Times columnist warns about social inequality in US

international | anti-capitalism | other press Friday February 24, 2006 13:37 by reader

A recent study from the US that shows that between 1966 and 2001 only the richest 10 percent enjoyed a growth rate in their real wages and salaries that was equal to or above the average rate of growth in productivity. In an article publised on the WSWS, ANN TALBOT writes about wealth polarisation in the US and about warnings from an unexpected source- a Financial Times economist.

The Financial Times columnist Samuel Brittan, one of the first monetarist economists in Britain, has issued a warning that the United States cannot allow the gap between the pay of top executives and the rest of society to continue to grow on the present scale. He calls for redistributive taxation to redress the situation. [1]

“Republicans,” he warns, “will not be able for ever to divert attention to religious and ‘moral’ issues.” They “would be wise not to tempt fate by insisting on making permanent the tax cuts at the top of the scale.” He expresses his fear that the alternative to some modest increases in taxation on the very wealthy may well be a more aggressive soak-the-rich campaign.

Full Text:

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/feb2006/ftim-f24_prn....shtml