Income Inequality Is a Structural Issue in U.S.: Columbia's Sachs

May.03 -- Columbia University Professor of Economics Jeffrey Sachs and Frances Donald, head of macroeconomic strategy at Manulife Asset Management, examine the factors behind the growth of income inequality in the United States. They speak on "Bloomberg Daybreak: Americas."

[@suzanadee8252]

An honest economist. He wont be invited on this show again. The US has the highest income inequality of any western country. That's total insanity!

[@phildurre9492]

babababaaab cant argue with you, because you cant convince idiots with arguments, you are a racist and don’t understand the system...

[@peternyc]

Jeffrey Sachs is such a sincere person and fantastic economist. He is being interviewed by the equivalent of Ted Knight and Betty White from the old Mary Tyler Moore show.

[@peternyc]

@KELLI2L2 I'm not sure I follow. Are you talking about the show host, or Jeffrey Sachs?

[@zoojudy5890]

I'm so glad someone finally called out Ray Dalio on his double talk useless solution to our income inequality. The problem was exacerbated by Citizens United which reduced the possibility that anything will ever be done about this self induced destruction of our democracy by the rich and powerful.

[@gambit0913]

It started earlier with Reagan…with the shift in mindset and how we perceive the role of government, money and what’s important to individual Americans…essentially as a form of government and country we have gone in a different direction than other advanced nations…that is the sort of federalism we want in our civics…

[@jamesl9371]

Universal health care ! Affordable housing and affordable education! Give people a living wage! Justice

[@jholid6y]

1945-1981 no homeless in every corner now homeless walking around like zombies, casualty of capitalism left for dead tbh

[@ColinYapp]

I guess you did not get the memo, the more homeless a city has, it means that the city is wildly successful. Sounds odd doesn't it?

[@thelittlevoiceofreason4583]

@KELLI2L2 Crony capitalism is an issue that needs to be addressed. Progressive government programs have been as large (if not larger) contributor. Look at the cities with the worst living situations and economic situations: they are usually run by Democratic "progressive" policies.

[@moore_news]

This kind of stuff needs to be talked about more widely in every country!

[@TacticalEarProductions]

Yang's the only candidate running for 2020 that's familiar enough with the system and has the foresight and intelligence to work up a solution that tries to cement stability for the changes coming in the future from rising income inequality due to automation.

[@jamesl9371]

Income inequality and wealth inequality is the biggest problem facing 90% of the population

[@Telluwide]

Trickle down economics 101. Thanks Ronald Reagan, your destiny lives on. Trickle down economics, the gift that keeps on giving.....

[@sabriritonga8734]

we see similar things exist in many countries when a few rich people control the economy

[@percivalsweetwater9992]

I love the book Jeffrey Sachs wrote with the forward by Bernie Sanders. It's called Building the New American Economy. Sounds dry, but wasn't.

[@u2ooby]

I agree and I like your name

[@peternyc]

Title of the show is about income inequality. The problem in America is wealth inequality. 50 years of out of control rent seeking thru privatizing the public sphere means that all individuals in America are atomized and left to pay high, rentier prices for things that should be free or low cost to the end user. America is just barrel of fish that the wealthy can gouge continuously.

[@yunior12]

So much change is needed in the USA.

[@stuginachnamnix5338]

Hi, I'm German and watching this from Germany. I have friends who live in the US and I have the following comments on this topic. 1) Yes, Germany has lower student loans, a better free social security system and also a slightly higher live expectancy. 2) But Germany has growing inequality too. I'd say the magnitude of inequality growth in the last decade was about the same. 3) German politicians have screwed up the retirement system for millions of people in the last decades. If you look for a good example on this topic look elsewhere (e.g. look for Norway, Sweden or Switzerland) 4) The flipside of the German system is that taxes are very high a it's harder to reach an "above average wealth" for hard working people. 5) Currently Germany is struggling with high dissatisfaction in the political leadership and a huge migration problem. Hope, this will give you the full picture.

[@theciakilledjfk5973]

I don't think you know how difficult it can be to get properly treated for a medical issue in the United States, even if you have insurance. Also, your migrant crisis is due to the wars we started. Europe has many problems, but not as dysfunctional as we are.

[@daviddestin1990]

what is "retirement"? like unicorns, I have heard of this but never seen one

[@RAFAELCANON]

You didn't mention Healthcare or minimum wage with cheese for me one of the biggest issues that Americans have

[@davidjacobson3529]

The problem is not inequality. The problem is the trend for a large part of the American population to have declining economic prospects. Monetary policy has contributed to the problem. Improvements to monetary policy could eliminate its negative effects. But, monetary policy cannot solve the problem. Better policies on health care and education could make a significant contribution. Both cost more than they should. A reasonable level of health care and higher education need to be available to all Americans at a cost they can afford. Jobs need to be available to people without a college degree unless those jobs really require a college education. Realistic training programs need to be available to prepare Americans for jobs that match their particular talents. More flexibility is desirable in opportunities for education and job training throughout a person's life. These kinds of efforts could provide significant positive value. But, it is likely that there is a deeper pervasive problem. It is the trend for technology to reduce the value of human labor. There is not any simple solution to that problem. One theme is to subsidize the earnings of lower income Americans to enable them to buy the products that technology can readily produce as long as there is some demand for them. But, most people need to find some kind of social occupation to fill their adult lives. Money on its own is not likely to offer a solution to a declining quality of jobs. One possible theme is using wage subsidies to encourage working class American populations to organize businesses to provide services to their own communities. In any case, the goal should be to exploit the plenty that technology makes possible. That goal should be achievable without depriving anyone else of anything. It has nothing to do with how many successful rich people there are or the role of unions in manufacturing businesses. It is important to recognize the limited ability to solve problems with money or direct government action. The best government can do is help shape the structure of human social activity and keep money from being a limiting factor. People have to form their own social hierarchies and find the collective intelligence for productive uses of money. At best, that will be a difficult process that will always have problems. Human life is largely about struggling with those problems.

[@kenfrank3782]

Back in 1960’s and early 70’s it wasn’t the golden era that we remember but there were jobs available for every educational level. Many of the unions bought on their own destruction- truckers unions had the mob, other unions were greedy but not all of them. When the southern states began offering large tax incentives and non- union work environments in order to pull industries from their traditional bases they opened the doors to future off shoring of jobs. It was one thing to have S Carolina or other southern states steal a business from NJ or Michigan- the profits and taxes stayed within the USA economic system. It was a totally different situation when a US based company moved to another country stranding American workers here and running their companies through places like Turk & Cacos ? To avoid US taxes as Black and Decker did in the late 1990s or to Ireland etc as many of our drug companies have done.

[@nathanielcarreon5634]

Income equality has always been with us, it a just a matter of degree.

[@kilgoringtroutless6295]

Is society here to service business or...is business here to service society.

[@rpm8865]

The only person who will tell the truth on Bloomberg thank you Prof. Sachs! He knows who blew up that pipeline and Jonathan Ferro is a 🤡

[@danielkruger4305]

All that stress is a primary cause of the increase in suicide and school shootings.

[@tanyakruyt5122]

Austerity made a mess of much of Europe & UK too!!

[@emmafuentesbaltazar8801]

Thank you Jeffrey Godbless to all people and the world Amen

[@sambradley1968]

There should be equitable distribution of wealth, as well as resources, both man made & natural. 💰💰💰

[@mrbojangles7504]

Monetary policy can fix this. Fund the government with treasury notes, NOT endless lending from the FED. But just to say, no one else in media is talking about this. Props to bloomberg.

[@ritamariekelley4077]

Thanks, Bloomberg for the truth...

[@ng-marc]

Amen! Brilliant guest

[@hendrikjanssen9075]

I am watching this from Holland on my free Friday (I work four days a week 9 hours for a full time salary)...

[@filmerd]

I like this guy. He's truthful about Syria too.

[@Diane-xh7vl]

No shit and your just now seeing this! No matter how hard u work u can never get ahead.

[@demri123]

Mr. Sachs on point 100%

[@peternyc]

The American Monetary Institute has the right understanding of how monetary policy can play a benevolent role in the economic health of the U.S. MMT, on the other hand, is indeed a "trick" as Jeffrey Sachs says. Dennis Kucinich sponsored a bill in 2011 titled The NEED act. It is a great example of how monetary policy can work towards improving the effectiveness of fiscal policy. Critics of the NEED act were and still are MMT. In England, the equivalent of A.M.I. here in the states is PositiveMoney.org.

[@jfausset]

In ‘81 Regan began QE. That is why divergence began. Deregulation (Glass Stiegel) is the other piece. #financialization and #fractionalreservelending are the accelerants

[@alexwilsonpottery3733]

Wages at the low end are going up, what 2-3%? What's 3% of $12500 or $24000? Now compare that to 3% of $300000, $600000, $2000000. Now imagine having to pay for all the usual things; rent/mortgage, food, car, child care, gas/electric, education to get a job that might pay $42000. See how 'income inequality' squeezes the life out of the working and lower middle-classes. These people don't have 401ks, or golden parachutes, or millionaire parents, grandparents, great-grandparents. Most don't have bank accounts, and unless willing to lie, cheat and steal, are unlikely to make it very far. To construct an economic system that makes playing the lottery the plan for financial security, is quite plainly immoral, unethical, and turns the 'American Dream' upside down to shake the loose change from its pockets.

[@meldridgereedjr2842]

You should read "The Accidental Superpower","The Absent Superpower" and "Disunited Nations" by Peter Zeihan

[@ArnaudJoakim]

Smart guy! Having a large MIDDLE CLASS also helps the UPPER CLASS.

[@calvinminer4365]

We shouldn't want to help the upper class or the wealthy, we should abolish them. Confiscatory taxes will fund the Green New Deal and avert the climate crisis the wealthy failed to address.

[@eternalzoom5039]

Lol they starting to tell the truth cuase Americans are starting to think of a Yellow Vest movement. Also Yang 2020

[@Telluwide]

I like how they include a graph from "Morgan Stanley"....

[@tonylinardi3089]

Get rid of the corruption! Period.

[@ASURAN24]

Andrew Yang is the answer!

[@makedredd299]

Canada need to start building a wall to keep immigrants from the south away. And make the Americans pay for building that Northern wall.

[@enormerschwanz]

And I say we pull ALL American corporations out of Soviet Canuckistan.

[@unkelfaka6216]

Canada is in massive dept and rising housing costs. Tax is crazy in South park. No thanks. Going south for the good tacos!

[@slimpaco3561]

Your president says he welcomes ALL immigrants.

[@chadsimmons4496]

@@enormerschwanz Soviet??? Like gulags? Hello Guantanamo Bay, habeas corpus. Like police state surveillance? Hello Patriot Act, war on drugs. Like military imperialism? Hello war on "terror", drone program. Like economic terrorism? Hello Venezuela sanctions, Iran sanctions. Americans and their hypocrisy. It's getting old.

[@cuatrocinco2186]

The lower skilled, less fortunate, less wealthy are not asking for the government to make them as rich as wealthy people. They just want to be able to live healthy, with a house, low monthly bills, food, water, and not live paycheck to paycheck. It is impossible though cause cost continue rising, income stays stagnant, and taxes and debt eat up whatever chance a low to mid range income house could muster. There has to be a lower cost of living nationally capped at some cost. Cause raising income is just going to give greedy people more incentive to raise costs.

[@kenrose1154]

He's telling it on the level

[@ollywright]

Good to see Modern Monetary Theory starting to be taken seriously.

[@BRuane-pw6xq]

The Rise and Fall of The Trumpreich

[@markm5946]

Volume is shut off for me. All way up on utube and my pc too, but this video is silent ;)

[@sambradley1968]

Economic inequality is the "Class Struggle ".

[@jorgegomez524]

organized societies at later stages is always a transfer machine of wealth from the poors to the rich.

[@nobodynobody9057]

Taxes don't go for programs, taxes are there to take money out of the economy .

[@peace8373]

The business community is always bashing the efficiency of government run programs. Yet Medicare medicaid the VA hospitals are much more efficient than the private sector. Water sewer roads seem to be much better done by the public sector than private business that wants to make a profit of their investment. We should always look at who will benefit the Citizens or business the country is for the Citizens

[@haoye8210]

No. Close your eye, dont look at anyone. America is perfect, it always be, no exeption. ----- Donald Trump

[@jennifergottliebel-azhari149]

Its practically impossible to get ahead as a working person in the US dont care what you earn the ridiculous costs of daycare housing and educating your kids for college each kid's college costing about what a house costs you have nothing if you are lucky and debt if not at the end. Wages aren't really the issue its lack of public support for education Healthcare or any limits on prices for basics like housing.

[@ttrons2]

My grandparents immigrated from Norway in the late 1800's wonder if they will take me back.

[@JJs_playground]

#Yanggang2020

[@2626balboa]

Its Simple. Less greed

[@tunissaadia8064]

I am Asian, I was shocked when I saw a US TV report that some US University students cannot afford to pay for accommodation and has to sleep in their cars.

[@ColinYapp]

Those are the ones with some money. In California there are students sleeping in tents or in the forest around their schools.

[@Mauropmg]

More freedom

[@lukszetrenne5153]

I’ve been telling people for years that President Reagan was patient zero for this economic problem and every administration since has adopted his economic philosophy which is the real problem. Also, the fact that the government refuses to enforce Anti Trust Laws. The market has not grown based off innovation. It has grown based off mergers and acquisitions as well as stock buybacks.

[@agusagus-ci2id]

because of your serial owned Quantitative Easing money policy. with zero interest rate.

[@Hyperpandas]

You believe that those with the least money would do better with higher interest rates than people who have the most? You're nuts.

[@louissavard9718]

A lot of country ( whit the social -democracy system) leaves more egalitarian system, we pay a lot of income taxer and taxes when we buy things, but we pay less for a day care , every have a health care, 60 years ago we nationalise the electrics compagny and today we have a cheepest price in a North America (Canada and USA ) , and in the end of the year, every one fight whit HYDRO QUÉBEC to have this part of THE BILLIONS DOLLARS S OF BENIFICE . We have nationalise all the lotery, we nationalise the sold of alcool and also the marijuana. We pay every week for a fews months of congés de maternity for the new mother and the new father too ( they decide how to share it). And believe it or not every automobile drivers contribute when he have his license a collective and nationalise assurance for the people hurt, descede or have leave with a limitation and this for the rest of your life. This assurance SAAQ protect ANYBODY IMPLICATED IN THE ACCIDENT WITH THE IMMATRICULATES VEHICLES, a old woman hit on the sidewalk, the alcoholic drivers qui hit the back of your car and hurt your children ( seat on the back of the car). Nobody needs to pay 💰 a lawyer to have compassion, THE SOCIAL 😱 system pay for this. So if the guy is drunk and he kill somebody, never mind if he’s rich or poor, we make a social contract to ptotect everyone. We call it the no fault because the guilty drivers under influence have right at every medical traitement he needs, and this , also if he kill many peoples under influence.

[@harleywoolford5247]

Sacha wants US to be more like Scandinavian countries, but never will he mention how they tax low and middle income people at high rates with VAT and income tax, but taxes corporations at lower rates. Norway even has a lower marginal income tax than the US. If you have a lot of inequality in education you can tax the rich as much as you like but you may still be very unequal. If im not mistaken Brazil and South Africa both tax wealthy, and inequality is still very high

[@harleywoolford5247]

@Ashok Hegde haha. those Scandinavian countries already had some of the highest life expectancies and living standards in the world before they started becoming big welfare states in 70s. Sachs is confusing correlation with causation

[@harleywoolford5247]

@Ashok Hegde yes that's true. They have been very bad at integration. If America was as poor at integration whilst having 40 million immigrants that would be a disaster. For a big nation like the US it's better that the size of government is small, and kept as much to a local level. Their government is not as efficient as Scandinavian ones. Switzerland with relatively low taxes manages to provide a very high standard of living, and I'm sure giving their cantons (swiss equivalent of states/provinces) a lot of autonomy helps.

[@harleywoolford5247]

@Ashok Hegde In no way do I think a country the size of America should try to be like any European country is today. In my view the US should go back to the old system they had that lasted until the early 20th century, when they had at least something close to real capitalism. A nation of 300 million people should be decentralised to the individual level as much as possible.

[@harleywoolford5247]

​@Ashok Hegde Market run education system and healthcare. Non profit hospitals actually used to exist. Radically reduce regulatory state, except for laws that actually protect people from harm. Don't strip people of welfare, but don't give it to anyone new. Colonial extraction has nothing to do the private ownership of the means of production Collect a small tax from VAT for essential forms of government, such as police, military, courts. I don't claim to know what is best to replace federal reserve, but I know central planning is not the solution If people want to help others so badly, then they should do it with their own money, rather than using the state to forcefully take people's income against their will. There is no cap on the amount of money you can give away. In no way am I suggesting that it should be done with a flick of switch, but needs to slowly be phased in. In principle a moral state should be about protecting the rights of an individual and allowing the individual the maximum ability to live their life in a way they see fit. A mixed economy robs people of those rights

[@harleywoolford5247]

@Ashok Hegde I acknowledge I have much more to learn about 19th and 20th century, but US already became wealthiest country on earth with gov spending around 7% of gdp. Many western nations had very low levels of spending in late 19th and early 20th century. Most were only around 10%. And that was a good period. Even if u don't want to go as far as I do, there is modern day evidence of states with relatively low net tax rates such as Singapore (around 15%) that get great results. Hong Kong also quite good, but their housing policy is silly. I think if every child got top quality market provided education then so few would't be able to take care of themselves that charity would be enough. So much more wealth would be created for charity. People can also take out unemployment insurance.

[@jaybrielakoi7747]

So do these stats count the hand full of ultra billionaires we have? I only ask because if you count those people I’m sure they make everyone look pitifully poor.

[@chrischoir3594]

Income Inequality is not a problem in America. High taxes and Gov bureaucracy is the problem.

[@pictureworksdenver]

BENGHAZI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@gilmoremccoy6930]

Chris! Not so, the 1% don't pay taxes 👺 and they own the US government. All of the rules and tax laws benefit them. They have made it almost impossible for the little guy to catch a break.👎

[@chrischoir3594]

@@gilmoremccoy6930 The top 5% of the country pay 70% of the taxes. The bottom 50% pay no taxes. If you want a break join the bottom 50%.

[@tankerman801]

Clearly Mr. Sachs has not actually read Ray Dalio’s article on MP3 which is MMT integrated with fiscal policy to address the things that are important to Mr. Sachs. I wish that if people have a real influence (like him) when they speak, that they would make sure to have all the information before commenting.

[@zeroxcliche]

MMT is about looking at the specifics of inflation sector by sector - like Kelton's job guarantee. Its like filling the potholes in your lawn. Once they are filled u switch off MMT stimulus - its just a sophisticated form of Keynesian style thinking - traditional monetary theory says if u put money in it will flow around & contribute to inflation. This is born out by the evidence - trillions in easy credit to Wall St ....inflation? Not only did it not drive inflation most of it just sat in the Wall St casino sector & never made it out to the real economy - Classical circular flow theory where the Fed pulls on a giant lever is out of date

[@vuelee4809]

Andrew yang 2020!!

[@Expatsunleashed]

Was that stormy Daniel?

[@kreteman7779]

Omg! Andrew Yang is all over this problem.

[@kreteman7779]

@Ashok Hegde Is that a serious question?

[@kn9ioutom]

REAGANOMICS TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS BEGAN INCOME INEQUALITY !!!

[@frednurk6173]

Mmt is not a monetary policy.

[@looper1112]

Socialism never looked so cute

[@jmaliklewis2528]

Third world USA coming soon..😂😂

[@ChiefCabioch]

People have free education, many refused to get it, who's fault is that? We can't all be a Warren Buffet, and some don't want that much responsibility, so then what? No country ever elevated one group by taking others down, ....when was the last poor person you worked for?

[@nickknott6521]

S🇬🇧🇬🇧🇺🇸🤔 Americans Are not all dumb. Jeffrey SACKS just PROVED My POINT 🤔 ,🙏! WATCH AND Learn , 🤔🤔😲😲👍👍🌍🌍🌏✅🌎🌹, ❣️😘LOVE MORE And More 🤔😘😲🙏🙏✋👂👂,

[@michaelmorrison8714]

this needs to be fixed..........or else the lamp posts need to have some ropes and bodies.

[@Diane-xh7vl]

How about a pay fking raise? Cost of living increase in pay is not given at all. U can't save if u have nothing to save!

[@antoniocalhau4711]

I would like the USA to be not like the other countries but instead better because the USA has the potential.

[@luifernandi]

Want to see what happens when we have pure capitalism. 👀

[@brucewayne2081]

Higher taxes in the US are directly correlated with higher corruption. (23 hour workdays for MTA employees "overtime"). So no thanks. Govt employee and contractor corruption is out of control. This is a key difference between the US and the other developed high tax countries. Also the US claims to have low taxes because it does not include local and city taxes. And healthcare in EU is public and much more efficient.

[@walid7885]

Stop warmongering and start taking care of your people. And it would not hurt if you take a look at big companies making billions and paying 0$ in taxes. Some find that odd.

[@pictureworksdenver]

Yeah, but those countries have so few billionaires.

[@DisEnchantedPersons]

It's even worse today, 6)12/23

[@Zayden.]

#capitalism

[@mikejoseph3111]

it's called greed

[@sambradley1968]

Karl Marx predicted what today is called "Economic inequality ".

[@lianguokang7470]

But the fundamental problem of capitalism found by Marx is still there, partly, and the European and Canadian governments have done a better job than the US government has done so far.

[@lianguokang7470]

Ashok Hegde I think you have not grasp what Marx has found, he found that the problem of capitalism is the exploitation of the employees by the employers, and now in the US, this problem is becoming more significant, that is why there is always an economic cycle, because the market and the production cannot match each other just by the free markets.

[@lianguokang7470]

Ashok Hegde western and Eastern Europe are not ruled under the same government, and there are lot more than just the economic reasons why the Eastern Europe is actually still a bunch of developing countries, partly because of the USSR.

[@chadsimmons4496]

Geezuz. This isn't hard. Who gives a sweet fuck what Marx said or meant or miscalculated???? Walmart CEO makes $12,000/h. If you think that's capitalism, you're a fucking blowhard.

[@Drvirhot]

Yang 2020... and im someone making over 400k

[@djmuscovy7525]

Then Yang's 1k is just latte money for you... 😀

[@tomast1323]

Its dangerous and risky - and it has nothing to do with right or left extremists.

[@frankzheng5286]

The poor will always be poor

[@realdemocracy11]

Looks like 1% of views have given this interview the thumbs down.

[@shogun7p7]

Austerity is useless!!!!

[@dailydata903]

Its Structural . . . so you cant do shit about it.

[@mwilliams82684]

But her voice

[@jameswalker7138]

It's been the haves and the have nots for way to long

[@jamesl9371]

Vote Democrat in 2020

[@vinanoir]

NO SHIT. IT'S CALLED CAPITALISM.

[@user-td7xf3gz4l]

I like to call it "income diversity" !

[@frednurk6173]

Jeffrey sachs does not understand what mmt is.

[@mizmlyn]

He’s talking about monetary vs fiscal policy. He’s not talking about MMT.

[@frednurk6173]

@@mizmlyn hi. Frances mentions this is why people are raising the issue of MMT, he replies no sort of monetary policy can help (lumping MMT into monetary policy, which it is not) and then makes the standard slur that it is 'some new trick of printing money and deficits'. I grant you he is not being very clear, but I believe that is what he is saying. MMT does not propose any monetary policy.

[@unkelfaka6216]

Andrew Yang for President!

[@enormerschwanz]

Lol

[@unkelfaka6216]

@@enormerschwanz 😊

[@vinanoir]

wrong answer: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pqrNfGStftuFjLM hate to break it to you, but "emancipation of the working class will never be legislated into existence." right answer: get away from capitalism.

[@louisaparker]

I hope to get rich. So I like inequality.

[@slimpaco3561]

My neighbor got a big raise, but I'm not mad. Good for him.

[@slimpaco3561]

This starts out saying that 90% of the people are poorer now and then goes on to say everyone should pay more taxes to solve the problem. WTF?

[@teebone2157]

And Trump immediately passes a bunch of tax and deregulation policy to help corporstions even more. The only law passed for tax paying workers is -2% tax cut that expires in 4 years. Wealth transfer upward

[@slimpaco3561]

Please compare the Trump economy with the Obama one. Much better now. Lower taxes, more jobs, wages up!