Just about three short months ago, the topic of income inequality, and the wide array of related matters surrounding it, were front and center during the presidential primarily elections, especially the Democratic primaries.
And now, just about two months before the November elections, we hear hardly anything about income inequality anymore.
Granted, the actual fall general election campaign just officially started on Labor Day, but, still, why are we suddenly hearing so little about income inequality and related issues (i.e., increasing the minimum wage, more tax fairness, including minimum taxes for wealthy individuals and corporations to prevent them from paying zero taxes, support for day care and other matters important to struggling single parents, etc., etc.)?
And, while we’re on the topic, whatever happened to the Occupy Movement? That was a very successful effort to force the issues of income inequality to be part of our national political dialogue. It seems to me that the best time for that movement to hit its stride would be during a presidential election cycle that features not only a presidential election, but Congressional elections and a whole host of local elections, as well. This is when the Occupy Movement could actually have its most significant impact.
Income inequality was proven to be a major issue that attracted a lot of attention from voters during the primaries. There is no better way to ensure voters become even more cynical than to make it a major issue during the primaries only to say...never mind...during the general election. That, my friends, would not only be a recipe for defeat, but a recipe for a well-deserved defeat, as well.
Bernie Sanders did this country a huge favor by ensuring that income inequality was discussed during the primaries. And, even though this particular kossack, who has always admired Bernie, backed Hillary during my state’s primary election, it’s no wonder that people like Bernie get so frustrated. The minute the primaries are over, suddenly THE MOST POTENT POLITICAL ISSUE DURING THE PRIMARIES suddenly...is hardly mentioned at all.
Oddly enough, since income inequality seems to have fallen off of the top priority list of issues, at least for now, the polling numbers between the two candidates have tightened. That doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s a direct correlation between the two, but it sure seems to me that one way to be sure to clearly show the difference between a Republican and Democratic president AND Congress would be to highlight the difference between what they want to do to address income inequality.
Just my two cents. Thanks for letting me rant a bit. Your thoughts are welcome below.