Ron Paul and the Wealth Gap

Conservatives can't get enough of Ron Paul and his purported revolution. For the second year in a row, he was the first choice in the Straw Poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference. The Texas Congressman -- who supports the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Reserve -- has become famous for his unwavering libertarian principles and has a fiercely loyal following. Whether Ron Paul actually decides to again toss his hat into the ring for president is not official yet -- but a burning issue facing all potential candidates in 2012 is the growing wealth gap. It's like a sleeping serpent and it's getting wider and deeper by the day. There were no reports of how conservatives plan to narrow the wealth gap in America at CPAC this weekend. But some prominent Americans are sounding the alarm.

Dr. Julianne Malveaux is ahead of the curve on this issue and lectures about the wealth gap regularly. She's yelling "FIRE" in a crowded theater but few seem to be listening. Dr. Malveaux's research finds one in four African-Americans live in poverty and one in three is out of work. The Bennett College President and noted economist is the author of Surviving and Thriving: 365 Facts in Black Economic History. Dr. Malveaux finds the wealth gap cuts across the board: recent figures show 12.9 percent of Latinos are unemployed compared to 8.7 percent for whites.

So what, you ask? Well, the rich in America may not be getting richer during this recession, but it's painfully clear that the poor are getting poorer. In his speech at CPAC Ron Paul spoke of how "The Brush Fires of Freedom are Burning." On that count, Ron Paul is absolutely right. And politicians would be wise to bear in mind that it's often a widening wealth gap that sparks those 'brush fires'... and a revolution.