Billionaire entrepreneur and financier Ray Dalio says there are two very different economic realities in the United States right now. That divide is threatening the nation's stability, the Bridgewater Associates founder says, and it's only going to get worse as technology replaces workers.
"[T]here are two economies. We talk of 'the economy.' Recognize that you can't talk about the economy ... there are two economies," says Dalio, speaking to Recode executive editor Kara Swisher on her podcast, Recode Decode, published Monday.
There's the "top 40 percent" and "the bottom 60 percent," says Dalio. And for those at the bottom, life is hard without a lot of hope.
"If you look at the economy of the bottom 60 percent, it is a miserable economy. Not only hasn't it had growth and economic movement and so on, it has the highest rising death rates, it is the only place in the world where death rates are rising because of a combination of opiates, other drugs and suicides," Dalio says. (Indeed, Princeton Professors Anne Case and Angus Deaton found that drugs, alcohol and suicide are a major reason behind rising death rates among non-Hispanic whites in the U.S. with a high school diploma or less.)
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/07/billionaire-ray-dalio-for-many-in-the-us-its-a-miserable-economy.html
Do you agree with his statements? I think Dalio has fair points, the people struggling in our country outnumber those doing well. We have some eye-opening issues such as death rates (specifics you mentioned) that need to be reduced. If we can limit casualties and decrease taxes (for the bottom 60%), then we can experience some major economic growth. I believe Trump has some efficient policies in mind to make this happen and narrow the gap between the wealthy and poor.
ReplyDeleteOne point not discussed here is the new tax plan--which definitely favors the top 40%--or an even narrower slice of people in the US. As explained in a Forbes article that just was published, the vast majority of the tax cuts in the plan will benefit corporations. So that makes this a tax plan that favors the rich.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.forbes.com/sites/johntharvey/2017/11/08/disastrous-trump-tax-plan/#12f546474dd3
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ReplyDeleteTechnology has seemed to divide the workforce and help the skilled workers with their jobs and the unskilled workers lose their jobs. This is evident in the 20th century when technology replaced a lot of workers on assembly lines. The skilled middle and upper management did not lose their jobs like the unskilled workers that were on the line. The use of technology is to provide more efficient production that will save money in the long run. The key to getting a skilled job is to enter a skilled trade as an apprentice or get further schooling.
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