Preface. There is a link between prosperity and freedom. If this link were better understood among the disparate groups on both sides of the gap between the wealthy and all others, we might come to a better understanding of how to close that gap. Freedom gives us the clearance to succeed or to fail. Failure, however, is not the end of the world. We often learn more from our failures than from our successes. Money and wealth in the hands of more people opens the doorway to more opportunities. Combine the wherewithal with the freedom to pursue dreams inevitably results in more prosperity for all. Greed is not the shortcut to more wealth. On the contrary, it limits both prosperity and freedom.

With the prospect of a Democratic control of Congress and the White House looming large in the upcoming elections, this could be a propitious moment for serious discussions about making the kind of changes needed to alter the course of our social and economic histories concurrent with bringing the Covid-19 virus under control.   

In the past 20 years or so the United States has fallen far behind a large portion of the industrialized world in terms of providing health care, education, and a minimum living wage for all residents. Our distributional outcomes of income and wealth are so unequal that poverty and its far-reaching  tentacles are visible everywhere. We nevertheless have enough income and wealth to make significant improvements in all these socio-economic issues despite the virus pandemic or because of ill-advised political opposition to making the necessary changes. The status quo is unacceptable to all fair-minded residents. Our fundamental values call for change, while our free market system is well-suited to deliver it. We can draw from these inspirational sources in working together cooperatively toward an improved economy that includes everyone. With outcomes that are consistent with our values and objectives, we also would be in harmony with the objectives stated so eloquently in the Preamble to our Constitution.

This narrative supports free-markets, more competition, an improved monetary policy, fair trade policies, an honest work ethic, and the role of responsible legislatures in resolving long-standing issues of income and wealth inequality and distribution as well as improving living standards for millions of residents now living in poverty. It has the objective of bringing these elements together in a cohesive way such that everyone can read and understand the issues and the benefits that are at stake. It has nothing to do with “taking from the rich and giving to the poor.”   All changes are future-oriented without disturbing present wealth accumulations.

Background. There are many elements of our economy that can be improved to bring about more prosperity. It is pointless to discuss them, however, without also showing how they can raise standards of living significantly for the bottom 50 percent of our population and thus ending poverty as we know it. Also, the need for an expanded health care delivery system and more educational opportunities does not begin and end with improving the lots of those who are sick or uneducated. A healthy and educated society has its own paybacks. Residents of such a society will seek out and find new and innovative ways to improve operational efficiencies and  standards of living for everyone just because healthy, determined, and educated adults need only the opportunity to do so. 

First, there is a huge flaw in how our monetary system works. We have the most highly educated pool of economists in the world who are employed by our Federal Reserve system (the Fed), but with little or no input to our national monetary policy making activities. We need to use their talents. They are far better qualified than are partisan legislators and corporate bankers to decide who, when, why, and how to direct the flow of trillions in dollar infusions into the economy by the Fed. The fact that $13 trillion today has found its way into savings (M₂ – M₁), and only $5 trillion circulates in spending (M1) is ipso facto evidence that corporate bankers engage in partisan lending practices that favor the ultra-wealthy over small businesses and individuals. The consequence of this favoritism is that huge amounts of wealth end up in the private accounts of the wealthy at a heavy cost to GDP, jobs, incomes, and tax revenues, while exacerbating the long list of poverty issues (e.g., hunger, crime, incarcerations, infant mortalities, illiteracies, mental health issues, and suicides) that result from the lack of money and wealth. Just by switching those two outcomes (savings to spending) would, in time, increase GDP by at least $40 trillion. Imagine the improvements in jobs, incomes, tax revenues, and poverty that would almost certainly take place with just that one change.[2] Note: An increase in the supply of money in circulation results in an increase in GDP. Or, Δ M₁ X V₁ = Δ GDP.   ($8 trillion X 5 = $40 trillion). In simpler terms, biased lending practices (corporate bankers to wealthy clients) over the past 20 or 30 years has cost us about $40 trillion in GDP, $34 trillion in personal incomes, and $5 trillion in lost tax revenues. Where did all that prosperity go? Answer: Into the personal wealth accounts of the ultra-wealthy. Technically, that is M₂ – M₁. 

Second, we need to learn from our neighbors from around the world. In particular, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Japan have economies and societies with only moderate differences in wealth and income disparities. They also have much lower crime rates, fewer incarcerations and suicides, less mental health issues, few teen pregnancies, greater life expectancies, higher literacy rates, greater social mobility, and they consistently rank much higher than does the United States on a wide variety of quality of life issues. They embrace health care and education for all. I have personally visited them all excepti Finland. The high quality of their lives is visible everywhere.  . 

Third, the great majority of income and wealth differences here are the result of legislation that results in the birth of huge estates to be transferred from generation to generation tax-free. Our total wealth pool (stocks, bonds, and real estate—less debts) totals $113 trillion dollars. 90 percent of that wealth is in the hands of just 10 percent of our population. Moreover, 90 percent of all new wealth flows to the holders of present wealth in the form of rents, dividends, interest, and capital gains. As a consequence, our legislators have created family dynasties with the wherewithal to last generations, perhaps in perpetuity. I feel compelled to point out that there are no skills or talents involved with choosing your parents wisely. The poverty left by the extracted wealth removes the wherewithal for those left behind to move up the social mobility ladder. Looking forward, we need to revamp our tax structure and our inheritance laws that take from the bottom 90 percent and give to the top 10 percent.

Fourth, little of the preceding prosperity shifts came about from market forces, or from talent, or by the efforts of individuals determined to improve their lot and find the American Dream. They are nearly all part of a conservative ideology, masterminded by wealthy individuals such as the Koch brothers.[3] A large number of billionaires have systematically infused hundreds of millions of dollars into the coffers of ultra conservative candidates for high public office with the expectations that they will follow the conservative agenda; namely, directing more and more public funds away from the poor, the needy, the working class, and the public good into the pockets of the ultra-rich. Using just a majority vote in Congress and control of the White House, they have also loaded up our federal court system with judges who have put the same agenda over the public good in their decisions. The fact that more and more tax dollars have flowed from the bottom to the top, while a wide range of court decisions have favored the rich over the poor is ample evidence that this conservative mindset has prevailed over the past 30 years. Reversing these trends will be monumental objective. 

Doing it is a must; failure is not an option. Replacing the Poverty Level with a Living Wage Calculator is, without question, an essential part of that effort.

The Living Wage Calculator. What could be more antiquated and inaccurate than the 1960s poverty level as a measure of living costs today? The Living Wage Calculator is the centerpiece to bringing about a level playing field for a competitive and healthy economy and for the needs of a family. It is based on the cost of food for a family of four. But we all know there is much more to life than just the cost of food. There are also fuel, housing, health care, transportation, education, and clothing needs. The average annual cost for these needs comes to about $75,000 per year for that family of four excluding the costs of vacations and dining out. The real question for solving these needs is this: Can our economy produce enough income to meet them?

The answer is a resounding “yes.” What is more, it does not require that we take from the rich and give to the poor. Don’t look askance! 330,000,00 million Americans are a lot smarter with more latent influence than the 650 billionaires who are now setting the agenda for the distribution of incomes and wealth. Over time, we would need to work toward raising all those families with incomes of less than $75,000 up to that same level. In today’s dollars that would be approximately an $8 trillion venture. Is that do-able? Yes. 

The details of the Living Wage Calculator are too expansive for me to list here. So I will simply refer the reader to this website for all the details:  livingwage.mit.edu. Also, how to implement it is found here. It is expansive, but do not become overwhelmed by it. It lists every state, and every county, and every major statistical metropolitan area in the U.S. where it shows the living wage in each. It is notably the work of Amy Glasmeier[4] and many other economists, universities, and corporations. It needs to receive a wide distribution so that everyone has a much better understanding about the real costs that are needed to live at the barest standard that would give each of us enough income to become independent contributors to society. It has nothing to do with socialism, communism, welfare, or any other scapegoat diversion that the conservative ideologues can and will mount against it. It has only to do with setting forth new horizons, and new objectives for reducing all the components of poverty, while raising incomes in a fair and honest way for all those who need it. Here are a few other components toward those goals:

New Money Flows. We start by re-directing new money flows from the Federal Reserve away from those at the top, and into the hands of those in the bottom 65 percent. But not in giveaways. All able-bodied residents must earn it. Remember: these are brand new future dollars, so we would not be taking money from anyone. We need to direct more money into the hands of small businesses and to individual entrepreneurs—where jobs are produced—and less into the hands of corporate bankers and CEOs—who love to pay themselves huge bonuses. We would only be shaping the future to our desired outcome (what ought to be), and away from our present (what is) with right tools. These are precisely the steps everyone must take in bringing about change. All arguments against this approach to change fly in the face of human history. This change can be achieved by granting new authority to the Fed in directing money injections away from corporate banks and into community banks and credit unions. 

Competition. Free markets in general, and the forces of supply and demand in particular, depend on competition as the lifeblood that makes them work. Competition also brings about better products and services, while it keeps prices down. But competition shrinks and shrinks as corporations get larger and larger.  Huge corporations also put small businesses out of business, while they are the justification for huge salaries and bonuses to those at the top. The oversight of mergers and acquisitions needs to be revamped to favor more competition and jobs for the many over size and payoffs to the few.

Other Changes. We must pay for those common needs that have a positive payback to society. The two needs that top the list are health care and education. They must be free to everyone. The rest of humanity is not stupid. Al other industrialized countries have met this challenge long ago. We are all alone in neglecting them. And that is because health care and education for all are not on the Koch family's agenda. We need to put them on ours—not as options, rather as necessities. The conservative agenda and all the pleadings of its puppets to the contrary are dead wrong about the necessity of health care and education. Remember this counter-argument: Who would you prefer to hire: Healthy and educated persons, or sick and ignorant persons? This should be a no-brainer.

The following list shows other areas that need to be reviewed in order to bring about a more equitable society with a better distribution of wealth and income:

·        Follow the Money. We need to carefully track and account for every dollar infusion from the Fed into our economy. New money needs to get into the hands of small businesses and individuals. The current ratio of 1.63 to 1 in favor of savings by the rich over the spending needs of the many must be reversed and monitored.  We need to give new authority to the Fed to correct these dollar flows.

·        Expand our Clean Energy Programs and Rebuild our Infrastructure. We need to commit to renewable energies while rebuilding our decaying airports, railroads, seaports, bridges, and highways. 

·        Tax Credits. This is probably the quickest and the most efficient way to raise living standards among the poor and the disadvantaged.

·        Support Credit Unions and Community Banks. It’s time to break up the stranglehold that large corporations have over our financial institutions. 

·        Establish and Monitor a Real Measure of Competition.  This is for economists to work out. Perhaps there is such a measure today that I am not aware of.

·        Abolish the Electoral System. This anachronism from the distant past needs to be abolished forever in favor of a direct vote by the people in electing those to high public office.  It has been manipulated into an abomination.

·        Expand Community Services.  Co-ops are an effective way to assure the survival of smaller economic units beginning with small businesses. They need to be expanded.

·        Expunge Criminal Records. Those who must carry the burden of minor criminal offenses until their deaths need to have their records expunged at a time certain. We need to stop trying to become a God with petty biases.

·        Support Black Lives Matter. This banner is justified, and it needs to be one of our guides to a higher standard of living for everyone.

·        Support a Fair and Just Immigration Policy. Immigrantsare still one of our main sources of strength and vitality to a free society. We need to preserve our respect for immigration.

·        Honor our Heritage. We are a nation of immigrants, of diverse colors and ethnicities, and objectives all living together toward a common purpose—to live to love and to participate in a free society. Let us never give them up in favor of an executive order or any other dictatorial proclamation. 

Implementation. It will likely take a commission put together by a future-oriented president consisting of experts and scholars from many different disciplines to make their recommendations about what the objectives and limitations of this proposal ought to be. They will need to have a set of objectives similar to those that are listed here for guidance. They will need the help of a highly competent body such as the Congressional Budget Office to calculate costs, benefits, savings, and needed efficiencies to make it all possible. It should come as no surprise that only a Democratic administration could be effective in bringing the appropriate talent together for such a task. Meanwhile, a good petition from one or more notable organizations could tap the goodwill of many residents in helping to bring a solution to this  long-standing challenge. Perhaps a pledge to work toward all these ends will help.

I pledge to support a Fair Living Wage for all residents of the United States that is consistent with the principles and the outcomes described in the MIT Model, in our Constitution, and in our common heritage. I acknowledge the need for and welcome the benefits of a prosperous America into the lives of all those who are willing to work to make prosperity and justice a reality for all residents. In addition, I will help to defeat poverty in all its forms today, tomorrow, and whenever or wherever it may surface.