President Obama - correct, but not adequately

For a brief account of President Obama's response to the anger of the US public on rising inequality in the US, see http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/06/us-obama-idUSN1E7950UK20111006

As I recollect, it is a VERY long time since Americans have protested about economic inequality, because of the dominant idea that "anyone can make it if they work hard enough and have a sensible lifestyle". This has been true for much of America's history, but has been less and less true in the last few years: income inequality is not only rising but is also becoming more entrenched - and the scandals since 2007 about privatising gains and socialising losses haven't helped.

Now that there are demonstrators on the streets, President Obama has responded. Mainly by defending the Dodd-Frank Act and financial reform in general (which he should) and by defending his USD448 billion "jobs package" (though that is only a kind of band-aid and, as I have argued earlier in this Blog, the President needs to rethink his position on world trade if he's going to make any substantial impact on unemployment in the USA).

Accusing the President of "class warfare" isn't going to get the Republicans far with the public, because the public perception is that it is the rich who declared, actually several years ago, class war on the poor and indeed the middle class - and that the consequences of that class war are only now becoming apparent. Sphere: Related Content