[DoreenMichele]

I think Americans workers are willing to tolerate conditions of exorbitant wealth disparity for at least two reasons.

I think most likely most American workers feel pretty helpless, like pawns in a game they can't exercise control over. They likely do not think of themselves as tolerating wealth disparity. They most likely think of themselves as enduring something they simply can't fix.

[andsoitis]

While most Americas say there is too much economic inequality in the US, there are other issues that they are much more concerned about:

1. Making health care more affordable

2. Dealing with terrorism

3. Reducing gun violence

4. Addressing climate change

5. Reducing income inequality

6. Reducing illegal immigration

And #6 is quite telling in the context of income inequality.

https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/01/09/most-am...

[DoreenMichele]

Health care is crazy expensive in the US. If you effectively addressed that, an issue which can leave The Have Nots bankrupt for needing medical care for a serious condition, you would go a long ways towards redressing income inequality.

[andsoitis]

Yes but notice it is about reducing expenses not about income.

[DoreenMichele]

Last I checked, the US was on a very short list of countries without maternity leave and the only developed/wealthy country without it and also on a short list of developed countries without universal health coverage.

It's not about reducing expenses. It's about trying to establish a social safety net that most countries that see themselves as more civilized than the US already have and it's part of what reduces inequality between The Haves and Have Nots in most places.

[andsoitis]

> It's not about reducing expenses.

Look, I'm only reporting what Pew Research purports to be on Amercans' minds. If you think Pew is wrong or that Americans have the wrong view, that's fine. I'm not arguing that.

[ac29]

The US has maternity/paternity leave via the FMLA, but its not very long (12 weeks) and its not paid. Small businesses (<50 employees) are also exempt.

[camgunz]

Unpaid leave isn't what anyone means here. It's not helpful to tell a wage worker to take FMLA for three months and thereby lose a quarter of your yearly income.

[jollofricepeas]

I disagree strongly.

Americans only care about moving up that ladder themselves and keeping others below them.

Here’s examples..

1. Universal healthcare was proposed as early as 1912, but overwhelmingly white Americans at the time didn’t want to cover minorities. This was backed by insurers and the work of Frederick Hoffman, the head of American Statistical Association at the time. Nothing has changed on the universal healthcare issue since that time.

Source:

- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1497788/

3. Americans obviously don’t care about gun violence. Since the sunsetting of the Federal Assault Weapons Bans, mass shootings (overwhelmingly committed by AR15) have skyrocketed with no end in sight.

Source:

- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Assault_Weapons_Ban

- https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2022/06/15/did-the-assault-we...

4. 58% of Republicans believe the US country should prioritize expanding exploration and production of oil, coal and natural gas. As an example, China outspent the US almost to 5:1 in transitioning to low carbon energy production in 2023.

Source:

- https://www.politifact.com/article/2023/mar/27/us-versus-chi...

- https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/08/09/what-the-...

5. Americans don’t care about income inequality. Improving public school education is the best way to improve outcomes for poor people but state legislatures have been defunding public schools since desegregation.

Source: - https://sc.edu/uofsc/posts/2022/04/conversation-jim-crow.php

- https://www.epi.org/publication/public-education-funding-in-...

[andsoitis]

> Americans don’t care about income inequality.

Let's say this is true. Logically then, one could make the point that people who are loudly proclaiming that the American worker is suffering because of income inequality (just look through this thread) are clearly out of touch with the average American worker and maybe even have a saviour complex with a touch self-righteousness.

[jollofricepeas]

White collar workers on HN feign moral outrage at executive pay all while…

..collecting their 401k and equity grants as shareholders.

You see we all “want change” as long as we get to keep our houses, 401k profits and position in society.