The Rich Get Richer…By Design

Brookfield, WI –  Even as the pandemic continues, the wealthy in America prosper. Even in the midst of massive unemployment, the rich become richer. Democrat Tom Palzewicz is running for Wisconsin’s Fifth Congressional District seat because he believes the economy should work for everyone, not just a chosen few.

Palzewicz worked in the banking industry, in risk management. He knows how money works. Moreover, he understands that access to money separates one business from another.

“What I learned in banking was that the closer you are to money, the easier it is to make money,” said Palzewicz. “The closer your job is to helping people, the harder it is to make money because we can’t score it. What is the value of a second grade teacher? That teacher may have taught a billionaire, but where’s his/her cut?  When you’re working with money, there’s an easy way to keep score, but if you’re a social worker, teacher, or any professional that helps people, there’s no way to score that. Education is one of the single most important things we do in society, yet we continue to underpay teachers.”

For Palzewicz, it comes down to values. What  do people value in life and what is seen as valuable? Most of the time, the answer is money.

“That is the biggest downfall of capitalism,” Palzewicz said. “When the scorecard is money that works, but if you do something that benefits humanity and the community, that isn’t appreciated.”

Americans admire money and look up to those who have it. They believe that the rich got there by hard work and initiative, true in many cases, but not always accurate.

“It is easier to believe that there are people who don’t want to work hard than it is to believe that there are people gaming the system,” said Palzewicz. “I hear from Republicans all the time that they do not want to pay for people who don’t want to work. Well, neither do I. But, why don’t they want to work? Is it because they have to take three bus rides for an hour and a half  to get there?  Is it because they don’t have the money to go back to school, because society says without the education you can’t get the job? Or they want you to work for $7.25 an hour, which doesn’t pay the rent?”

People do have a sense of fairness and when this disparity between haves and have nots is laid out, many will agree the system is not fair.

“They may even agree that the system isn’t fair, but changing it is incredibly hard,” Palzewicz explained. “Minimum wage should be indexed, but Congress lacks the political will to do that. It should be indexed to productivity, not inflation. It takes a lot to overcome this emotional theory with facts. From 1946-1980, the market went up two to three percent, whole wages went up three to five percent. But all that changed and from 1980 to now, where the stock market and wages flipped, because it was done on purpose.  From 1980 on, the plan was to return the money back to the people that had it. Ronald Reagan said that we’re going to ramp up the cold war and we’re going to do a tax cut.   That’s the way it has gone.”

Reagan said “the problem with government IS government.” He took measures to get government out of the way of big business. In doing so, power went away from the people, away from Congress, and into the hands of the lobbyists representing the wealthiest of Americans.

Palzewicz is pro-business and understands the needs of businesses, large and small. He also believes in a level playing field, where all can compete.

Palzewicz for Wisconsin

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.