Wealth Defense Industry: The Real Reason America's Oligarchs Can Squeeze the Rest of Us

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/story/154930/wealth_defense_industry%3A_the_real_reason_america%27s_oligarchs_can_squeeze_the_rest_of_us?akid=8566.277129.efO0ZR&rd=1&t=5


In 2005, Citigroup offered its high net-worth clients in the United States a concise statement of the threats they and their money faced.

The report told them they were the leaders of a “plutonomy,” an economy driven by the spending of its ultra-rich citizens. “At the heart of plutonomy is income inequality,” which is made possible by “capitalist-friendly governments and tax regimes.”

The danger, according to Citigroup’s analysts, is that “personal taxation rates could rise – dividends, capital gains, and inheritance taxes would hurt the plutonomy.”

But the ultra-rich already knew that. In fact, even as America’s income distribution has skewed to favor the upper classes, the very richest have successfully managed to reduce their overall tax burden. Look no further than Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney, who in 2010 paid 13.9 percent of his $21.6 million income in taxes that year, the same tax rate as an individual who earned a mere $8,500 to $34,500.

[bemildred]

1. Wow, they spelled it out in apublic document? nt

[xchrom]

2. right? i even raised my eyebrows a little. nt

[saras]

3. What's the surprise? The've spelled EVERYTHING out in public documents...

...and we get called paranoid conspiracy theorists if we bring them up on DU before a good decade has passed.

2005. Can't do anything about THAT. That's safe for DU.

[LongTomH]

4. Progressive writers have been warning people about the rise of Plutonomy for years.

Michael Moore used the term in Capitalism: A Love Story. The word has popped up on DU quite a few times.

The point is, Plutonomy is a word that needs to be in your vocabulary, since it represents our current reality!