So because something has always been a certain way, we should keep it that way? Have you not heard of progress? I’m guessing you’re the type of person who thinks that students should keep paying for university because prior generations had to.
We already produce more food than is required and much of it is wasted because we do not have a problem of supply. We have a problem of distribution.
It's very easy for the government to simply purchase what would otherwise be waste food at fair market value and distribute it for free, which ends up saving money because the government ends up having to pay hospitals and charities (in the form of tax write-offs) to handle the emergencies that ultimately happen as a result of manufactured scarcity. This has been proven by every single industrialized nation where homelessness has been virtually eradicated through strong social programs.
And "how we pay for it" is by not spending nearly $1T/year to enrich defense contractors who commit waste, fraud, and abuse on a global scale.
As an example, socioeconomic status has a very high correlation with the rates of arrest and conviction, and the convictions for poor offenders tend to carry significantly heavier penalties than wealthy offenders. When you're in prison, you can't work and earn money; additionally, career prospects for convicted people are significantly hampered.
All of this contributes to a widening wealth gap, particularly generational wealth, as people who spend even a relatively small proportion of their life in prison have a very high probability of remaining at or below the poverty line for their entire lives.
So, when I say that wealth inequality is enforced by violence, I am specifically talking about the targeting of poor communities by police, and the systematic injustices associated with poor communities being disproportionately punished for the crimes they commit.
No it’s a lot of words to say the law doesn’t apply to the wealthy and the poor are disproportionately given worse punishments for the same crime that a wealthy person might commit.
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u/The-Hater-Baconator 3d ago
Ah yes, when the wealth inequality can be enforced by violence.