Bob: Happy Holidays Uncle Bob

Sam Reich: You’re muted Uncle Bob, click the microphone button.


Uncle Bob: Can you hear me?

Sam Reich [hint of sarcasm]: Yep, we hear you loud and clear Uncle Bob.

Katie: Happy Holidays everyone! I’m so grateful that even during these tough times we’re able to get together.

Uncle Bob: Tough times? Bah! The stock market is doing great, and so are my investments! Why do people say the economy is doing badly? 

Bob ASIDE: Oh Uncle Bob, always so cranky. Here are some talking points to help you tackle the favorite arguments of the Uncle Bob in your life.

Bob: Actually, Uncle Bob, the stock market isn't the economy. The richest 1 percent of Americans own half of all stocks, and the richest 10 percent own more than 90 percent. Most Americans' wages have been stagnant or declining for years – if they're lucky enough to even have a job. And a big reason is corporations have pushed down wages in order to boost the stock market. 

Uncle Bob: It's poor peoples' fault they're poor. If they had more gumption they'd pull themselves up by their bootstraps and work harder. 

Bob ASIDE: Be ready for this one.

Bob: Actually, Uncle Bob, “pull yourselves up by the bootstraps” is a sham. 60% of all wealth in America is inherited. And the poor work more hours and often under harder conditions than the rich. Yet on an hourly basis they're earning less than they have in years. The federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour hasn't been raised since 2009. If the minimum wage had kept up with inflation and productivity since the 1960s, today it would be over $20 an hour.

Uncle Bob: If people want to be paid more they should get a college education!

Bob: Easy to say, Uncle Bob, but the cost of going to college keeps rising faster than inflation, and student loan debt has soared. We should make public higher education tuition free. In the 19th century we made grades 1 through 8 free, and then in the 20th added Kindergarten and grades 9 through 12. Free public education has served this country extraordinarily well.

Uncle Bob: Just cut taxes on big corporations and the wealthy. They're the job creators. If their taxes are cut, they'll create more and better jobs!

Bob ASIDE: Ah, taxes. Now’s your perfect opportunity to debunk some long-standing myths. 

Bob: Now Uncle Bob, tax cuts on corporations and the wealthy haven't trickled down in the form of more and better jobs. Just look at the 2017 tax cut. Corporations have used the savings to buy back their shares of stock and give the stock market an artificial sugar high. 

Uncle Bob: The real problem is big government! Cut the size of government and we'll all be better off.

Bob ASIDE: Once they realize they don’t want to defend greedy corporations, they might try to shift blame to the government instead. But, deep down, even Uncle Bob knows that without public investment, he wouldn’t be where he is today.

Bob: Not true, Uncle Bob. The biggest federal programs that truly help people are Social Security and Medicare. And right now, you’re dependent on both. Besides, we need the government to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, invest in better schools for our kids and grandkids, and provide quality healthcare for everyone. 

Uncle Bob: It's my money! I should decide how to spend it, not the government!

Bob: But, Uncle Bob, you wouldn't have a penny if the government didn't build highways and bridges for you to get to work, if it didn't educate you and your employees, and enforce the contracts you make in order to get paid. 

Uncle Bob: You know what you are? You’re a radical leftie COMMUNIST.

Bob ASIDE: When the name-calling starts, you have the upper-hand. Time to bring it home.

Bob: There is nothing radical about forming a society based on justice and dignity, Uncle Bob. You want to know what’s radical? America’s billionaires growing their wealth by over $1 trillion during this pandemic, as millions form breadlines and face eviction.

Uncle Bob: Well, Jeff Bezos is a crook. I’ll give you that.

Bob: You know Uncle Bob, I think there’s more we can agree on than it seems. We both think billionaire greed and big money in politics are out of control, and we both want clean air and clean drinking water.

We both care about America. And we want to leave the world better off than we found it.

Bob ASIDE: Happy Holidays