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Economic Justice For All: The Great
Regression to Progressive Action
We Are One Conference
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Distribution of Wealth
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I Guess We Must be Optimists
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Who has the Money???
Top 1% has a third of the nations
wealth.
Top 10% has over 70% of the nation’s
wealth.
90% of America has less than 30% of
the nation’s wealth.
Half of America only has 2.5% of the
nation’s wealth.
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Average Wealth by Wealth Class in 2009
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Housing Crisis
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Debt!
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We are Now a Nation of Debtors
$ Trillions
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45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1970
1980
1990
Size Of Whole Economy
Total Outstanding Debt
2000
2007
Monthly Review 12/08.
From Federal Reserve data.
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Lost Jobs
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New Job Loss

14 million of those categorized as unemployed are out of work

In October 80,000 jobs were created yet need 90,000 jobs
just to keep up with job growth DON’T THINK RIGHT. THINK
NEED 200,000 JOBS TO KEEP UP WITH JOB GROWTH
It is estimated that in addition to 14 million unemployed
Americans, another 2.3 million have simply left the labor
force.
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Lost Jobs
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Immigration Scapegoating
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The Truth About Immigrants Contribution to the
Economy
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Undocumented Workers Contribute to Federal Taxes
The IRS recently determined that between 1996
and 2003, undocumented workers paid $50
billion in federal taxes.
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Undocumented workers contribute to Social
Security and Medicare
The Social Security Administration estimates that
the undocumented pay $8.5 billion in Social
Security and Medicare taxes annually
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Immigrants contribute to wage gains for nativeborn workers
Roughly 90% of native-born workers experience
wage gains from immigration, which totals
between $30 billion and $80 billion per year
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Legalizing undocumented workers can
strengthen the US economy
A path to legalization for undocumented
immigrants would provide a $1.5 trillion dollar
boost to the American economy over 10 years and
boost wages for US born workers and newly
legalized immigrants
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The Racial Wealth Divide
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Who has the
Power?
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“Corporations are People
Too !”
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Citizens United Decision
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Workers Are The People
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Wages
In 2009,
Productivity
Up 9%
Down
4.5%
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Red States—Right to Work States
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Red States—Where Anti-Union Legislation is
Moving
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What
percentage
of private
sector
workers in
the U.S. has
a union job?
A. 0%
B. 7%
C. 33%
D. 50%
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Private Sector Union Density
33%
1955
7%
2011
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In the United
States, how
much more
money does
the average
CEO make than
the average
worker?
A. 50 times
B. 96 times
C. 178 times
D. 343 times
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Average CEO pay
343 25
times higher than the average worker
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Which
president did
the most to
deregulate
investment
banks,
enabling
them to
crash the
economy?
A. George W. Bush
B. Ronald Reagan
C. 1st George Bush
D. Bill Clinton
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The national
deficit makes
up a bigger
part of our
economy
than ever
before.
True
False
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As a share of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP)…
As a share of
our Gross Domestic Product (GDP)…
Our national deficit was higher
following WW II than it is today.
Our national deficit was higher
following WW II than it is today.
- - -+
- - - - - - - -Our
- -national
- - $- - deficit
- - - -+was
- -higher
- - - - -$- - - - - - - - - - - - 1945
following WW II than it is 2011
today.
As a share of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP)…
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Two Economic Realities
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What broke our economy?
Was it the Great Recession?
The Great Recession Increased Inequality
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Economic Inequality didn’t start with the
Great Recession
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Before the Great Recession: Great Income
Inequality
Between
1979-2007
About 64% of
income growth
went to the
highest paid
10%.
While the other
90% only saw
36% of income
growth.
The poorest
20% saw not
even half of
1% income
growth.
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Before the Great Recession:
The Great Regression
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During the Great Regression
Concentration of income and wealth
Stagnating average wages
Shift from 1 worker household to 2 worker households
More work less You Have
Declining savings
Increased Economic Insecurity
Shift of cost away from the elite to middle and working class
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Wages pretty stagnant from 1970’s 2009
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2 incomes masking stagnant wages
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2 incomes today < 1 income of the 1970’s
Discretionary Single
income of the 1970’s
is greater than
Discretionary Dual
Income of the early
2000’s
$42,450 > $73,770
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Why $43,000 is more than $74,000
(after adjusting for inflation).
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Declining savings
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Increased Economic Insecurity During the
Great Regression
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Single Income Family Today

If dual income families are in more difficult economic situations
than single income families of the past then today’s single income
families are even in worse condition.

Most Americans have less median earnings than the (inflation
adjusted) $42,000 average of the early 1970’s.

Median Earnings 2007:
White women - $36,398
Black males - $35,652
Black Women- $31,035
Hispanic males - $ 29,239 Hispanic Women - $25,454
American Indian men - $34,833 American Indian Women - $28,937
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Other Signs of the Great Regression :
Shifting of cost to worker
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A Shift in Burden
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Rewards of Productivity shift from worker
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An Old West Virginia Proverb
You’re liable to end up
Where you’re headed”
A Strong American Economy Requires a
Strong Middle Class Not:
Growing concentration of income & wealth
Great Regression
“ If you keep going in
the same direction…
Great Recession
Stagnating average wages
Working more having less
Declining Savings
Increased Economic Insecurity
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Shifting cost on to middle & working class

A Wall Street Crash in 1929
laid bare the falsehood that
the Great Economic Inequality
of the Gilded Age was
sustainable.

Those who had been most
active in resisting the great
inequality faced by the
masses created a political
climate where bold
progressive reforms were
implemented.
The Gilded Age
We Must Shift the Direction of the Country. It
has been done before.
Great Depression
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Institutionalizing change

It would take about 5 years until the liberal politicians in power
took the bold steps of the “Second New Deal”.

The Second New Deal would empower union organizing
through the Wagner Act further regulated the treatment of
workers through the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 ,
provide mass employment opportunities through the Workers
Progress Administration, and provided benefits to the
unemployed and the retired with the Social Security Act.

Government investment in its citizens, regulation of
corporations and finance, and the booming economy produced
by World War II created the basis for the American middle
class.
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A Middle Class Economy

The struggles of organized citizens combined with federal
legislation created a more equitable growing economy.
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Labors Ten Years of Rapid Advancement
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Post 50’s Other Movements lead in struggle
for greater shared Prosperity

As t
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Struggle on Many Fronts advanced a Shared
Prosperity Agenda

The Struggle of America’s most exploited workers, advance the most
progressive set of policies since the New Deal in the Great Society Program.
The Great Society programs from 1964 to 1968 included:
The Civil Rights Act of 1964,
Voting Rights Act of 1965,
The Immigration and Nationality Services Act of 1965
The Civil Rights Act of 1968 -banned housing discrimination and extended
constitutional protections to Native Americans on reservations.
The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964
The Social Security Act of 1965 (Medicare and Medicaid)
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
The Higher Education Act of 1965
The Bilingual Education Act of 1968
Truth in Lending Act of 1968

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Movements of 1960s recognized Economic
Justice was the foundation of social justice

Goals of The Freedom Budget

1. Abolition of poverty

2. Full employment

3. Full production / high economic growth

4.Adequate minimum wage

5. Farm income parity

6. Guaranteed income for those who can’t
work

7. Decent homes for all

8. Modern health services for all

9. Full educational opportunity for all

10. Better social security and welfare

11. Equitable tax and money policies
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The Great Regression turning back
Racial equity advances.
1977 to 2007 only about a 1% increase in Black / white income equity.
2007 to 2009 Black / white income inequality is increasing.
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Financial Regression
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Financial Sector a leading force in Great
Regression
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Wheel of Misfortune
Rule
changes
favoring
the 1%
Greater
political
power for
the elite
Weakened
labor and
grassroots
movements
Greater
Economic
Inequality
Weakened
American
Worker
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How Do We Break Out of the Wheel of
Misfortune
We Fight Back!
Immigration Rights
March of 2010
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We Acknowledge and Advance our Victories
Strengthening Civil Rights
Enforcement
Fair Sentencing Act
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We Recommit to past struggles
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And We End the Lies
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MYTH: What’s Good for Wall Street is Good for All
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Wall Street wealth does not trickle down
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MYTH: What’s Good for Corporations is Good for All
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Corporate Profits go into the pockets of
CEOs
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MYTH: What’s Good for The Rich is Good for All
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The Truth is there is enough for everyone
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The truth is when the Private Sector is broke
the Public Sector is needed
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The truth is there must be strong regulation
limiting the damage the wealthy can do to the
economy

The Rich are destroying the economy not working and poor
people.
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The Truth IS
Though the wealthy and elite
have torn the economy apart
once again it is working people
who will rebuild this country.
So what are we doing to build an
inclusive Middle Class
Economy?
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