Summary Of Aftershock

In our society today, there is a huge divide between the wealthy and the impoverished. The richest individuals of the population make the majority of money being earned today. Some have proposed that there should be a more equitable system put in place to even out the distribution of money in our economy. This would ensure there are no extremely poor or lavishly wealthy individuals. But is such a system even realistic to implement in the United States? The U.S. is just not a nation of people who are willing to make significant monetary sacrifices for others because of some attitude like “we’re all in it together.” American citizens view themselves independently of each other economically. Though we may always be united in times of crisis and despair, we are a very individualistic society when it comes to earning money. In Aftershock, author Robert Reich supports the position of a more efficient system of economics that would more evenly distribute money across the different economic classes. He
lays out several measures that would have to be taken for his system to work. These include more protection for the middle class via legislation and stronger unions, stricter financial laws on corporations, higher income tax on the wealthy, and diverting money from other budgets such as defense. Reich’s liberal bubble might be burst by the fact that none of these are new ideas and there are reasons why they haven’t been implemented already. “Strengthening the middle class” been repeated over and over by politicians recently, especially by Obama and his administration during the campaign process. Has the president actually done anything to merit the label of “strengthened middle class?” Of course not. Unemployment of middle class workers is as high as ever. So Reich saying “more protection for the middle class” is basically an empty statement. It may sound nice, but it doesn’t really mean anything. Reich also supports unionizing, despite the fact that they are outdated, they are hurting our public schools, and they are bankrupting our companies (Hawkins). Remember Hostess? Unreasonable union demands being unmet caused a strike that lead to the company closing factories and shutting down (McCarty). These past few months, if you ever had that craving in the middle of the night for Twinkies, and you came to face the horrible truth that there were none… blame unions. Stricter financial laws are something this country desperately needs, as corporations are very skilled at finding loopholes to take advantage of the system and exploit our economy.
Unfortunately, the problem is that these same companies have lobbyists that more or less legally bribe our politicians. What incentive is there for politicians (other than doing the “right thing of course) to bite the hand that’s feeding them? It takes vast amounts of money to run political campaigns and politicians get this money from corporations and interest groups making donations. For example, the 2012 presidential election hit the $2 billion mark to give an idea of the type of money involved (Reilly). In order for legislation to be passed to close loopholes on big business, lobbying must first be done away with. This system has been in place for quite some time, and there is less than a little momentum in Congress to change it. This seems to be another unrealistic idea by Robert
Reich. Mr. Reich also had the incredibly original idea of raising taxes on the wealthiest individuals in our society. President Obama also famously endorsed this strategy in the past election. There has yet to be any progress on that front. The problem with taxing the rich too much is that they have the resources to simply leave to another country with better rates. It is simple common sense. That is exactly what is happening in France today as their extremely high rate has driven away top-earners and made it difficult for French corporations to attract CEO’s (Economist). If done at all, raising taxes on the rich is something that can only be done in moderation so the rich aren’t scared of completely. This slight raising of taxes would not have a hugely significant impact anyway. Besides, increasing taxes on the rich also makes it more difficult for these individuals to hire new employees with their lack of funds. Finally, the most foolish of all Robert Reich’s proposals, is cutting the military budget to fund entitlement programs. The United States military employs hundreds of thousands of people, not including outside contractors that the military hires for assistance. The reason our government pumps so much money into our military is not only because of security reasons, but because it’s an important aspect of our economy. However, that is not to say national security is secured regardless. Cutting military spending would essentially put as at greater risk as a nation. This is the opinion of several high-ranking army generals, including Gen. Martin Dempsy who said the military would not be able to react as quickly as it can now if the budget was cut (Mora). So Robert Reich’s genius plan would create more unemployment, more people dependent on welfare, all the while putting national security at risk. The truth is that the United States has never been about spreading wealth around. Though we are united as a nation, we are independent financially. That is not a particularly bad thing and does not necessarily mean Americans are selfish. It is the belief in this country that people are entitled to keep what they earn and do with it what they see fit. People don’t want to be told what to do with their own money. Though a more equitable system would spread wealth more evenly, many Americans would still be up in arms over the government mandating their finances. The American dream, in its essence, is rising from the bottom of society to the top. It does not refer to people at the bottom who receive handouts from the rich. American tradition carries a sense of pride in being ambitious and working hard to reach goals and dreams. It is true that there is a great divide in money earned between the rich and the rest of society in America. A flawed list of proposals such as those made by Robert Reich, however, is not the answer. The divide is coming from the top percent keeping what they earn, while the lower classes increasing their dependence on the government. Instead of encouraging people in the middle and lower classes to be more dependent on the government, we should be encouraging people to work harder and rise higher. It is the push we need as a nation to jumpstart our economy and get us on the right track. “Share the wealth” philosophies like that of Robert Reich just aren’t accepted in the U.S. These ideas have been tried and they haven’t gone anywhere. Instead, we should embrace our true nature of financial independence. If everyone strived for greater ambitions, the economy would more than likely see the benefits.

Works Cited

"Diving Into the Rich Pool." Economist.com. The Economist, 24 Sept. 2011. Web.
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Hawkins, John. "5 Reasons Unions Are Bad For America." Townhall.com. N.p., n.d.
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McCarty, Dawn. "Hostess and Bakers Union Asked Accept Strike Mediation."
BusinessWeek.com. Business Week, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2013.
Mora, Edwin. "CNS News." Panetta: Obama 's Cuts Create 'Risks ' in Military 's 'Capability to Respond ' CNS News, 27 Jan. 2012. Web. 25 Apr. 2013.
Reilly, Mollie. "2012 Presidential Election Cost Hits $2 Billion Mark." The
Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 06 Dec. 2012. Web. 25 Apr. 2013.