Freedom, Fraternity, Equality

Breathe.

Good. You’re doing great.

Now consider what I’m about to tell you, but as dispassionately as you can.

We are a nation struggling, and we’re making some poor choices because of it…but we can change it. What do I mean, and what does this have to do at all with the title?

Well, there’s something important that we don’t seem to have internalized yet. No, not equality as an overarching principal, but if you thought that then at least you’ve been paying attention to my facebook rants. That’s a good one. But I mean this truth: all of the stuff we want, we can get with equality. This also ties into why I dislike the concept of billionaires (not one in particular, but generally). But this is also why I continually focus on equality as an overarching goal—because it’s not snake oil. You want a better society? Fix inequality.

Let’s focus on income inequality for this article. You can read more about income inequality in the United States. I’ve mentioned before that income inequality creates more crime and establishes more career criminals. Note I didn’t say poverty, but income inequality. This isn’t new, or something I made up. I first did a short post about it on Facebook almost ten years ago. This is known. So known, in fact, that scientists are doing studies to figure out why this relationship exists. For those of us living it, it doesn’t matter why it exists, as much as it matters that it exists.

What you’re going to start seeing is a tightening up of laws as politicians scramble to save face. You’ll see people who rely on perception (politicians) hurt a lot of people pretending to be strong on immigration, for one thing. You’ll see homelessness treated more like a criminal offense than a result of society. A lot of stalwart politicians who you used to think were bastions of egalitarianism will show their true colors, not unlike the talented Mr. Musk. Oh, get it? It’s a reference to the Talented Mr. Ripley. (Brace yourself for that, because you’re probably not mentally prepared for the second round of betrayals yet.) What they’re doing is protecting themselves, so don’t judge them too harshly for it. My point in mentioning them at all is that these people will make things worse. While that’s going on, the tariffs and mass deportations, if they end up happening, will turn this country on its head as the bottom falls out for poor and middle-class people.

If you’re confused by that, let me explain. Tariffs are basically taxes. Level a tariff against a country means adding taxes on every good from that country. A brute force approach to tariffs means basically that a lot of goods are going to get a lot harder to get and a lot more expensive. Meanwhile, mass deportations mean that a lot of things we need migrants for, like picking food and construction where they’re over-represented, will make food and housing more expensive and harder to get at the same time. Basically, the combination of the two means sticking it to the poor, because the rich are rich enough already that they won’t feel it. Therefore, poor and middle-class people get poorer, widening economic inequality.

This is where you come in. While the federal government is up to their shenanigans, get involved on a state and/or local level, and work to put in place a safety net. Work on building up income equality, and your efforts will be rewarded with people who have the brain-space to think critically about the issues, and absorb the reality of what’s going on. Get out in your community and make yourself uncomfortable, not to get a vote, as we often do, but to make friends. And be supportive. Build community so that people have somewhere to go, and people to talk to. Bring people in.

Oh, that’s going to suck a lot. Because talking to people in person isn’t like talking to people on social media. You can’t just unfriend someone when they’re right in front of your face. In fact, talking to people in person is super-risky to your self-esteem and well-being. But if you do that, then you have a chance to bring attention to the inevitable rising inequality. And if you work toward building a safety net locally or statewide, you can reduce that inequality. As an added bonus? You talk to someone and get to know them, while they get to know you, and that matters because through relationships are where a lot of people get their news.

Nothing builds community like building community. And working toward income equality is one way to do it, with the added benefit that in doing so. What’s wrong with America isn’t its people, but human nature and the presence of such severe economic inequality. We’re at 45 on an index of 0 to 100, where higher is better. Norway is 27, for a reference point. We can do better at that, and a lot of that can start with us, personally. I point this out not to blame us, but to give us focus. The political conversations may be toxic to have, but everyone can have a conversation about the price of bread, which could lead to a conversation about the relative price of bread, near perfect segue into the topic of income inequality.

So yes, organize for political purposes. Definitely we need that. But also, don’t forget the human element. You’ll never convince someone trying to figure out how to feed their family and coming up empty of the importance of literally anything else. Fix the cause, and the rest will follow. There is a way forward, and you can be part of it.