We live in an age of unprecedented openness. As stated earlier, technology has made information and communication free or almost free. There is more opportunity than ever before…yet that opportunity is largely theoretical.
Between 1997 and 2001 the gap was as follows:
1. The top 1% earned 24% of earnings growth.
2. The top 10% earned 49% of earnings growth.
3. The bottom 50% earned 13% of growth.
Until 2008 none of this seemed to matter. The wonderful inventions, such as iphones, ipods, Twitter, Google, and Facebook kept us entertained like kids at Disneyland.
At the same time, the expanding bubble of debt created a surreal environment of monetary nirvana.
As this financial crisis lingers on, the gap between the new plutocracy and the new Dumpies is becoming a pressing political issue.
During the 1960s, the hippies dropped acid and dropped out. Today, as Dumpies, the largest demographic group (a.k.a. baby boomers, approximately 75 million strong…of which I am one) may wake up and drop back in. If they do, who knows where the political process, driven by their hippie values, will go? This is why the second decade of the 21st century will be more important than the first.
We cannot allow the gap to grow bigger. We must have financial education in our schools. Money will not close the gap -- only financial education will. If we do nothing, who knows what creature will emerge as the mascot of the new decade?
To see the future, look to the past. Throughout history, political despots have emerged during times of economic crisis. Some famous characters are Mao, Stalin, Napoleon, and Milosevic.
In 1933, four years after the 1929 crash, two figures arose from the Depression. One was Adolf Hitler. The other was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Many people believe Barack Obama is modeling himself after FDR. Which leads to the question: Who will play Hitler?
http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/richricher/237392
