The Wealth of the Average American Increased

I continue to hope that someday I will read that “the wealth of the average American increased under president” to be named later. Over the last year, I have read at least a dozen articles how America’s billionaires and millionaires experienced an increase in their personal wealth under the Donald Trump administration.

Fact: Prior to the 2016 election, there were 540 billionaires in the United States, and 10.8 million millionaires. At the end of Trump’s four years in the White House, 788 billionaires and 22.3 million millionaires were residing in America. Meanwhile, the average income of the working class remained stagnant or declined.

During the peak of the pandemic in 2020, these same individuals took advantage of the tragedy and experienced increases in their personal incomes ranging from 10-25 percent. Today, they are once again laughing at the government and the American people as they are engaging in the immoral practice of price gouging the nation’s working class, falsely calling it “inflation.”

The only “accomplishments” recorded during Trump’s four years of pretending to be president were permanent tax cuts for the nation’s billionaires and millionaires and its largest corporations. His failure to take timely action when he first became aware of a possible health crisis in December 2019 resulted in nearly one-million deaths as of today, financial insecurity for millions of working-class Americans and devastation for thousands of small businesses and their employees.

My point is, “was Trump your president?” His focus appears to have been on the welfare of the super-rich while ignoring the plight of the majority. I am dumbfounded that thanks to Fox News, Newsmax, and other right-wing propaganda machines, millions of uninformed Americans continue to believe that Trump’s illegitimate presidency was “good for our nation’s economy.” If they took the time to learn the truth, America’s fiscal status is progressing far more rapidly under President Joe Biden in less than two years, than Trump’s baseless claims during four years of just plain bull.

One undeniable fact is that Trump was the least qualified candidate in history and proved that fact over four years. One example was his use of Air Force One as his personal aircraft. Every trip to Mar-a-Lago, one of his private golf courses, or to hold another of his hate rallies, cost the American people millions of taxpayer dollars.

The cost of operating Air Force One is just over $200,000 per hour. Add to this other expenses, including the cost of housing and feeding dozens of secret service agents, and every time he left Washington several million dollars were wasted. Trump enjoyed playing the part of a real billionaire and you and I paid for it.

A growing and very serious problem in America is income inequality. While the super-rich continues to enjoy their undeserved wealth, the middle class is in decline, and the gap between the ridiculously wealthy and the majority widens every day.

In 2022 America remains the wealthiest country in the world. A fact hidden by our government and the mainstream media, is that the number of low-income Americans and families living below the poverty line continues to grow. Nearly one-half of all our nation’s people live in these two levels of our economy.

I understand completely. Without social security and some lucky and wise decisions in the past, my wife and I would be homeless. At nearly 76 and 71 years of age, we have no recourse. We are unemployable and receive barely enough money each month to pay our bills.

Unable to afford anything other than Medicare part “A,” any healthcare crisis will result in losing everything in our lives. This is the real America in the 21st century, and much of this is the result of having the worst federal government in the world.

But do not exclude younger Americans in this discussion. Economists claim that most millennials and even younger Americans will never be able to afford a single-family home. When I look at the average income in my city, the Reno/Sparks area, I understand.

The average cost of a single-family home exceeds $350,000 today in an area where the average income for a family of two is about $40,000 a year, and a family of four $45,000. Rents for a studio apartment begin at $1,200 per month. This means that any single resident in Northern Nevada must make in excess of 22,000 dollars each year to pay for normal expenses.

A capitalistic society, the United States of America, depends upon consumer spending to exist. What will happen when the average consumer can no longer afford anything other than the necessities of life? No new clothes, televisions, phones, or anything else other than what is needed to sustain their existence? Think about it.

Op-ed by James Turnage

Sources:

Newsweek: Americans Became Wealthier Under Donald Trump, Census Finds; by Giulia Carbonaro
Business Insider: America’s billionaires have become even richer since Donald Trump became president, and it says a lot about the country’s record-high wealth gap; by Hillary Hoffower

Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Diverse Stock Photos’ Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inline Image Courtesy of Mussi Katz’s Flickr Page – Public Domain License