{"id":14481,"date":"2013-03-11T09:58:47","date_gmt":"2013-03-11T13:58:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/?p=14481"},"modified":"2013-03-11T09:58:47","modified_gmt":"2013-03-11T13:58:47","slug":"lets-do-something-about-this","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2013\/03\/11\/lets-do-something-about-this\/","title":{"rendered":"Let’s do something about this"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

This video seems to be everywhere. It needs to be everywhere.<\/p>\n<\/iframe>\nIf you\u2019re wondering about the validity of the numbers cited \u2014 if the situation is as massively skewed as the video portrays, then let me assure you the numbers check out. The facts are factual. The video is true.<\/p>\n\u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/blogs\/wonkblog\/wp\/2013\/03\/06\/this-viral-video-is-right-we-need-to-worry-about-wealth-inequality\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">This viral video is right<\/a>,\u201d Ezra Klein writes, giving it the Wonk Seal of Approval. \u201cWe need to worry about wealth inequality,\u201d Klein says.<\/p>\nWell, yes, we need to \u201cworry\u201d about this. But worry isn\u2019t really a substantial response, and a substantial response is what is needed here.<\/p>\nJust consider all the breath and ink and time wasted fretting over budget deficits and the clumsy, crude responses to deficit-panic, like \u201csequestration.\u201d Then watch that video again, or look at the graph below. The massive concentration of wealth they illustrate tells you all you need to know about those deficits \u2014 that most of the wealth is piling up beyond the reach of taxation. More and more of our allegedly \u201crunaway spending\u201d is flowing to<\/em> the 1 percent, \u00a0while less and less of our revenue is being supplied by<\/em> the 1 percent.<\/p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/52\/2013\/03\/wealthgraf.jpg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-14482\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/52\/2013\/03\/wealthgraf.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"539\" height=\"390\"><\/a><\/p>\nThat\u2019s an unsustainable situation and an unsustainable trend. It calls for a response.<\/p>\nIt requires a policy<\/em> response \u2014 steps that citizens must demand and elected officials must implement. It also calls for a moral<\/em> response \u2014 this is something that prophets, preachers and pundits need to be condemning. And it calls for a cultural<\/em> response \u2014 from storytellers, artists, songwriters, jesters and clowns.<\/p>\nWe\u2019ll return to this later, but here let\u2019s just make this an open thread to discuss potential responses \u2014 \u201cif \u2026 then\u201d responses. Consider that video above to be the \u201cwhereas\u201d of our resolution. Given what that \u201cwhereas\u201d clause tells us, what should be included in the \u201ctherefore be it resolved\u201d section of our resolution?<\/p>\nWorry is appropriate but inadequate. What should we try to do<\/em> about this? What can<\/em> be done?<\/p>\n\n<\/p><\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This video seems to be everywhere. It needs to be everywhere. “We need to worry about wealth inequality,” Ezra Klein writes. But while worry is appropriate, it is inadequate. Let’s consider this video the “whereas” clause of our resolution. And then let’s get to work writing the “therefore, be it resolved” section.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":141,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-class-warfare"],"yoast_head":"\n<title>Let's do something about this<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This video seems to be everywhere. It needs to be everywhere. "We need to worry about wealth inequality," Ezra Klein writes. But while worry is appropriate, it is inadequate. Let's consider this video the "whereas" clause of our resolution. And then let's get to work writing the "therefore, be it resolved" section.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2013\/03\/11\/lets-do-something-about-this\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Let's do something about this\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This video seems to be everywhere. It needs to be everywhere. "We need to worry about wealth inequality," Ezra Klein writes. But while worry is appropriate, it is inadequate. Let's consider this video the "whereas" clause of our resolution. And then let's get to work writing the "therefore, be it resolved" section.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2013\/03\/11\/lets-do-something-about-this\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"slacktivist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-03-11T13:58:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/files\/2013\/03\/wealthgraf.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Fred Clark\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Fred Clark\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2013\/03\/11\/lets-do-something-about-this\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2013\/03\/11\/lets-do-something-about-this\/\",\"name\":\"Let's do something about this\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-03-11T13:58:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-03-11T13:58:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/#\/schema\/person\/32666545e535b697afb93d9848dcfc47\"},\"description\":\"This video seems to be everywhere. 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A former managing editor of Prism magazine, Fred worked in the parachurch nonprofit world for a decade and then for a decade in the newspaper biz. He began blogging in 2002. In 2003 he began writing a review of the best-selling Left Behind series. Eight years later he still hasn\u2019t finished reviewing the second book of that series and the experience has left him a broken shell of a man. Fred knows the difference between the possessive \u201cits\u201d and the contraction \u201cit\u2019s,\u201d and he is acutely bothered when others mistakenly confuse the two, yet he himself just kind of instinctively types the apostrophe whether or not it belongs there. Some feel this is his greatest hypocrisy, but those who know him better know better. He\u2019s guilty of much greater hypocrisies. Jesus loves Fred far more than Fred loves Jesus, but he at least has the decency to recognize the unfairness of that lopsided relationship and he has long wished that he were better at maybe kind of sort of doing something more to correct that some day. A Baptist, an amateur, a Gen-Xer, a Gemini and a Mets fan, Fred lives in Southeastern Pennsylvania with his wife and two teenage daughters. You can reach him via email at slacktivist at hotmail dot com.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/author\/fredclark1\/\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Let's do something about this","description":"This video seems to be everywhere. It needs to be everywhere. \"We need to worry about wealth inequality,\" Ezra Klein writes. But while worry is appropriate, it is inadequate. Let's consider this video the \"whereas\" clause of our resolution. 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A former managing editor of Prism magazine, Fred worked in the parachurch nonprofit world for a decade and then for a decade in the newspaper biz. He began blogging in 2002. In 2003 he began writing a review of the best-selling Left Behind series. Eight years later he still hasn\u2019t finished reviewing the second book of that series and the experience has left him a broken shell of a man. Fred knows the difference between the possessive \u201cits\u201d and the contraction \u201cit\u2019s,\u201d and he is acutely bothered when others mistakenly confuse the two, yet he himself just kind of instinctively types the apostrophe whether or not it belongs there. Some feel this is his greatest hypocrisy, but those who know him better know better. He\u2019s guilty of much greater hypocrisies. Jesus loves Fred far more than Fred loves Jesus, but he at least has the decency to recognize the unfairness of that lopsided relationship and he has long wished that he were better at maybe kind of sort of doing something more to correct that some day. A Baptist, an amateur, a Gen-Xer, a Gemini and a Mets fan, Fred lives in Southeastern Pennsylvania with his wife and two teenage daughters. 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