IRS says rich getting richer: report

[UpInArms]

Source: Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The richest one percent of Americans earned a postwar record of 21.2 percent of all income in 2005, up from 19 percent a year earlier, reflecting a widening income disparity among different classes in the nation, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing new Internal Revenue Service data.

The data showed that the fortunes of the bottom 50 percent of Americans are worsening, with that group earning 12.8 percent of all income in 2005, down from 13.4 percent the year before, the paper said.

It said that while the IRS data goes back only to 1986, academic research suggests that the last time wealthy Americans had such a high percentage of the national income pie was in the 1920s.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN1241503820071012

---

well, duh! That was the BFEE's plan, wasn't it?

[trotsky]

1. Next up: IRS says Pope is Catholic. n/t

[kath]

17. IRS says bears shit in the woods.

[davekriss]

2. Depressions usually follow

Income concentrates in the hands of a few. There usually follows a crises in effective demand. These crises take the form of severe recessions and steep depressions.

Give a dollar to a poorer person and that person will quickly spend the entire dollar on goods and services to continue daily living. That dollar, plowed back into the economy, results in additional economic activity, additional value creation, and we are on a virtuous spiral toward improving prosperity.

Give that same dollar to a rich person, someone who already has all he or she needs to continue daily living, and far less is spent. A certain "idle tax" is imposed on that dollar, it is not plowed back into the economy, subtracts from overall demand, less goods and services are needed and a negative spiral into depression forms.

Usually preceding the depression one finds a limited sector of the economy does well: The $10,000+ luxury watch segment, the yacht industry, Van Goghs sell for $90 million -- but none of these contribute to the prosperity of main street, just the 1 percenters who populate wall street.

Same as it ever was... hold on to your seats as we have 20-50 years of a very bumpy ride ahead...

[Magleetis]

3. The slow drip

of the death of democracy.

[lonestarnot]

4. Class war raging. Get a clue.

[HughBeaumont]

5. LINCOLN SHOT! TITANIC SINKS! BERLIN WALL DISMANTLED!

More News at 11 . . .

[DeepModem Mom]

6. K&R

[Speciesamused]

7. Well Duh!!!

This has been in the works since King George
took office. That was his plan seemed to go
over without any hitches.

[area51]

8. This isn't a surprise ...

since the economy is so bad. As was said elsewhere on this thread, when there's this much disparity in wealth, depressions follow, and we've already been in a Depression since '01.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

9. wasnt this the plan all along?

[kath]

18. Egg-zackly

[Hydra]

10. I'm surprised the IRS admits this

it's to the advantage of the 1%ers to make everyone think that they are not part of the problem. Then they can blame it on "the unions and other overpaid workers"

[KansDem]

11. Bush's base.

Reminds me of a bumper sticker I've heard described:

There are only three groups who vote Republican:
1) Billionaires
2) Millionaires
3) Suckers

[davekriss]

35. Anyone know where I can get that sticker?

It's great! I'd add it to my bumper anytime.

[BootinUp]

12. Just inflation, nothing to see here

back to the salt mines.....

:sarcasm:

[tanyev]

13. Mission Accomplished.

[progressivebydesign]

14. you nailed it. n/t

[1932]

31. Exactly.

[gateley]

15. K&R. I'm going to go throw up. nt

[Roland99]

16. Who has benefited from 6 years of Bushco?

The Beast (military-industrial complex)
Mega corporations
Drug/Pharma industry
Energy industry
Wealthiest members of the country.



Hmmm....I guess it's time to redefine "of the people, by the people, for the people".


:(

[Hissyspit]

19. Income-Inequality Gap Widens (Wealthiest 1% Share of National Income Hits Postwar Record)

Source: Wall Street Journal

Income-Inequality Gap Widens

Boom in Financial Markets Parallels Rise in Share For Wealthiest Americans
By GREG IP
October 12, 2007; Page A2

The richest Americans' share of national income has hit a postwar record, surpassing the highs reached in the 1990s bull market, and underlining the divergence of economic fortunes blamed for fueling anxiety among American workers. The wealthiest 1% of Americans earned 21.2% of all income in 2005, according to new data from the Internal Revenue Service. That is up sharply from 19% in 2004, and surpasses the previous high of 20.8% set in 2000, at the peak of the previous bull market in stocks.

• Widening Gap: The wealthiest Americans' share of national income has hit a postwar record, surpassing the highs reached in the 1990s bull market, and highlighting the divergence of economic fortunes blamed for fueling anxiety among American workers.
• Behind the Numbers: Scholars attribute rising inequality to several factors, including technological change that favors those with more skills, and globalization and advances in communications that enlarge the rewards available to "superstar" performers whether in business, sports or entertainment.
• Political Fallout: The data pose a potential challenge for President Bush and the Republican presidential field. They have sought to play up the strength of the economy and low unemployment, and the role of Mr. Bush's tax cuts in both. Democrats may use the data to exploit middle-class angst about stagnant wages.
• See related IRS data.The bottom 50% earned 12.8% of all income, down from 13.4% in 2004 and a bit less than their 13% share in 2000.

- snip -

The IRS data go back only to 1986, but academic research suggests the rich last had this high a share of total income in the 1920s.

Scholars attribute rising inequality to several factors, including technological change that favors those with more skills, and globalization and advances in communications that enlarge the rewards available to "superstar" performers whether in business, sports or entertainment.



Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119215822413557069.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news

[begin_within]

20. The game of Monopoly ends when one player acquires so much wealth that the others

can't pay their bills.

[Theres-a]

21. Right on.

We certainly are moving in that direction. I wonder when the debtors prisons will open.Run by KBR,naturally.

[Hissyspit]

22. "Monopoly" is fascinating...

The way it mimics real economic behavior in some ways.

Factors are missing from it, of course, government influence, trendy consumer behavior, etc., but you notice as it becomes inevitable that one player will win and there is nothing anyone else can do, it becomes EXTREMELY un-fun to continue the game.

[Hip_about_time]

23. I say...

we should just let that 1% have it all. A comprehensive program to find every piece of US currency on the planet, the deed to every piece of land and the title to every vehicle as well as all stocks and bonds and hand it over to say the top 100 earners who are US citizens. Then what? when they finally have it all we will see the true motivation since the capital/ labor credit system would no longer exist and the REAL reason they accumulate wealth would no longer be attainable (Coercion) if the rest of us were on a different system.

[begin_within]

25. Maybe we should come up with some kind of substitute for money.

[Yael]

24. And our money is worth about as much.

[LongTomH]

26. Those with more skills?

Scholars attribute rising inequality to several factors, including technological change that favors those with more skills

There's a big problem with that analysis, corporations can now buy those skills overseas, and the 'information-economy' workers from India or China will work for what you'd pay people to sack groceries here.

[JBoy]

30. If it's skills, this guy should be making out great

- Numchuck skills
- Bow Hunting skills
- Computer hacking skills

[MetaTrope]

34. When you hire Bill Gates, anything is possible

http://www.ifilm.com/video/2679657

[Solar_Power]

27. Duh

what a surprise

[fasttense]

28. The final nail in the coffin of trickle down economics.

All boats don't float in a rising tide and the bushes tax cuts served no purpose but to make the uber wealthy richer.

[MetaTrope]

29. So rarely does this get shown graphically...

But here's a chart showing the volume distribution of earnings in 2005 according to the IRS data.

[IADEMO2004]

32. EAT THE RICH

[shanti]

33. well, duh!

:eyes: