I once wrote a blog about common-man laborer, Homer Simpson and his capitalist boss, Mr. Burns. Click here to read it. It was a long-winded parable about the rise in asset prices vs. the stagnation in income growth for most Americans.
I assume someone at PBS read my blog and was inspired to put together a documentary about the power of the Federal Reserve. You can watch it for free, click here. Well, you actually already paid for it through your taxes.
The gist is that in 2008, the Federal Reserve rescued asset prices, but not the economy. In other words, investors benefited greatly from quantitative easing (fancy talk for money printing). However, the person who trades hours for pay has been treading water ever since. Here's an interesting graphic put out by, you guessed it, the Federal Reserve.
Of course, capital gains taxes are much more favorable than earned income taxes for most middle-class folks. Also, if taxes go up Mr. Burns is unlikely to give Homer a raise. So the government compensates by passing an infrastructure bill finances through: money printing. As I wrote in my blog, I'm not sure how to change the system we are in. However, the advice I've always heard is never fight the Fed. The key is to become a capitalist by investing your capital in addition to your sweat equity as a laborer. If you can't beat them, join them. If you'd like to learn how click here.