December 2000

The Growing Gap Between The Rich
And The Rest Of Us

Will a Globalized Economy Widen the Growing Gap Between the Rich and the Rest of Us?

The economic boom of the 1990s is the longest in American history. But after decades of sinking real wages for the middle and working classes and increasing disparity between rich and poor, Americans are left more economically polarized than ever before. Globalization of the world's economies is homogenizing global cultures and values. This blending ostensibly fosters efficiency and growth: "The rising tide lifts all boats." Alas, the rising tide has sent the yachts to the South Seas while the rest of us are stuck bailing out our dinghies at the docks.

• At the dawn of the 21st century, wealth and income disparities have regressed to the perilous inequality of the 1920s. Today, the top 1% of households own more wealth than the entire bottom 95% combined, possessing 40% of the nation's overall wealth. The booming stock market has been a bust for many Americans: 90% of all stock and mutual fund value are owned by the richest 10 percent.
  
  
• The pay gap between CEOs and workers is 5 times wider than it was at the start of the decade and 10 times wider than two decades ago. A worker making $25,000 per year in 1994 would now make $138,000 if their pay grew at the same rate as the average CEO.

We are constantly bombarded with good news about America's booming economy, with its low inflation and unemployment. But what we don't hear is that for the great majority, living standards haven't risen over the last 30 years. Contrary to some perceptions, wealth and wage disparities actually hinder economic growth. With U.S. imports far outstripping exports, we need higher wages here at home to be able to afford imported products. Meanwhile, American workers are being told that pushing for greater benefits and pay will drive capital to low-wage factories abroad. In a globalized market, well-paying jobs may be our biggest export. "Never forget your country has 4 percent of the world's people and 22 percent of its wealth," President Clinton has said. "We've got to sell something to the other 96 percent if we want to hold on to our standard of living."

As the dominant trend in the world today, economic globalization affects every dimension of our existence, from the food we eat to the thoughts we think. The quality of our lives will largely be shaped by the structure of the global economy. And key to its structure are these questions: Whom does it serve? To what end? And who decides?

What's gone wrong and how do we set it right? Is America still one nation standing united in equality of opportunity, or are we fast dissolving into two polarized economies in one world market, where living, labor, and environmental standards are largely ignored?

During December of 2000, MMP conducted a major public education campaign on these issues. In all, we scheduled 131 radio interviews in 27 states. Of these, 14 were regionally, nationally or globally syndicated. Some 22 authorities were interviewed on such topics as the globalization of world markets and income inequality.

Guest Speakers by Topic

A Nation Divided: Economic Disparities Not Seen Since the 1920s

Chuck Collins, Co-Founder and Co-Director, United for a Fair Economy

Felice Yeskel, Co-Founder and Co-Director, United for a Fair Economy

Holly Sklar, Writer and lecturer

Nancy Folbre, Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts at Amherst

Globalization of World Markets: Economic Boom for Whom?

Charles Derber, Professor of Sociology, Boston College

Kevin Danaher, Co-Founder and Director of Public Education Global Exchange

Mike Prokosch, Globalization Coordinator, United for a Fair Economy

Medea Benjamin, Founding Director, Global Exchange

Income Inequality: Waging War on the Wage Gap

Heidi Hartmann, Director and President, Institute for Women's Policy Research

Scott Klinger, Co-Director, Responsible Wealth

Sam Pizzigati, Education Director, National Education Association

Persistent Disparity: Bridging the Racial Divide

John A. Powell , Executive Director, Institute on Race and Poverty; Sonosky Professor of Law, University of Minnesota Law School

Dalton Conley, Associate Professor of Sociology, New York University

Chester Hartman, President and Executive Director, Poverty and Race Research Action Council