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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
Pay the People! summary
John Driscoll, Morris Pearl, The Patriotic Millionaires
Why Fair Pay Is Good Business and Great for America
19 mins
Brief summary
Pay the People! advocates for significant economic reform to reduce inequality. It emphasizes fair wages, progressive taxation, and strong labor rights to help create a balanced, sustainable economy that benefits everyone.
Table of Contents
Pay the People!
Summary of 6 key ideas
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Key idea 1 of 6
The Jenga economy
In the classic Hasbro game Jenga, players carefully remove wooden blocks from the bottom of a tower and place them on top. With each move, the structure becomes increasingly unstable, inching closer to collapse until, inevitably, it all comes crashing down.
For five decades, pieces of the U.S. economy have been steadily moved the same way – upwards – through policy changes, tax reforms, and wage suppression. And, you guessed it, the bottom is becoming increasingly unstable.
The numbers tell a stark story: In 1973, the wealthiest 1% captured just 9% of the nation's income. By 2023, their share had nearly tripled to 26.5%. This represents one of the most dramatic wealth transfers in American history. Since 1981, economists estimate that approximately $50 trillion has moved from the bottom 90% of earners to the top 1%; a redistribution so massive it has fundamentally altered the American social contract.
This transformation wasn't an accident. Through expensive lobbying campaigns and policy changes, politicians from both parties have consistently favored their donor class over working Americans. Tax reforms and wage suppression have steadily extracted wealth from the middle and lower economic levels, destabilizing the entire structure – just as removing too many blocks from Jenga's foundation threatens the whole tower.
Among those who've recognized this dangerous imbalance are some unexpected voices – wealthy Americans themselves. Take the story of one Patriotic Millionaires member, a successful boat builder who married into money. When he saw his first post-marriage tax return, he was stunned to discover he now paid half the tax rate he did while crafting wooden hulls in the baking sun. This personal revelation exemplified the systemic inequities that would drive hundreds of wealthy Americans to action.
In 2010, fifty-six high-net-worth individuals formed the Patriotic Millionaires, challenging the extension of the Bush tax cuts during Obama's lame-duck session. Today, their ranks include self-made entrepreneurs like Men's Wearhouse founder George Zimmer, inheritors of wealth like filmmaker Abigail Disney, and even innovators who've developed technology for Mars rovers. What unites them isn't charity or altruism – they just want a better country. They recognize that a society this unequal simply cannot endure.
Their perspective challenges the prevailing narrative that what's good for the wealthy is good for America. Instead, they argue that the concentration of wealth has created a precarious economy where the majority of Americans struggle to maintain middle-class stability, ultimately threatening the foundation of democratic capitalism itself.
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What is Pay the People! about?
Pay the People! (2024) examines how America's economy suffers when businesses and policymakers prioritize short-term profits over fair wages for workers. It argues that raising wages across all levels would benefit everyone – from working families to business owners – by strengthening consumer spending power and preserving democratic capitalism.
Who should read Pay the People!?
- Business owners and executives seeking to understand the broader economic impact of wage policies
- Policy makers and public officials involved in labor legislation
- Anyone who wants to understand more about the American economy
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