this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2023
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You say that people at the bottom go with less and less, but that doesn’t seem to match what’s actually happening in the world.
It does match exactly what's happening though. Others have mentioned housing cost which is a clear example, but you can also look at income inequality. Here's an article which cites data from the congressional budget office https://inequality.org/facts/income-inequality/
It shows up to 500% growth since 1979 in the earnings of the .01% while the 99% of earners are only making about 50% more than in 1979. That data makes it clear that wealth is being concentrated, and that people at the bottom are going with less. Especially considering inflation since 1979 has been 320% (source)
Inequality is a measure of the difference between top and bottom. It is not a measure of how much the bottom has.
Demonstrating that the bottom 99% has had wages increase 50% since 1979 while inflation has decreased the value of the same currency by 320% is damning. There's no good defense for capitalism here.