The Richest 1% Have Captured America's Wealth -- What's It Going to Take to Get It Back?

[marmar]

via AlterNet:



Amped Status / By David DeGraw

The Richest 1% Have Captured America's Wealth -- What's It Going to Take to Get It Back?
The United States already had the highest inequality of wealth in the industrialized world prior to the financial crisis -- and it's gotten even worse since.

February 17, 2010 |


This is Part II of David DeGraw's report, "The Economic Elite vs. People of the USA." Click here for part I.


"The war against working people should be understood to be a real war.... Specifically in the U.S., which happens to have a highly class-conscious business class.... And they have long seen themselves as fighting a bitter class war, except they don't want anybody else to know about it." -- Noam Chomsky

As a record amount of US citizens are struggling to get by, many of the largest corporations are experiencing record-breaking profits, and CEO's are receiving record-breaking bonuses. How could this be happening, how did we get to this point?

The Economic Elite have escalated their attack on US workers over the past few years, however, this attack began to build intensity in the 1970s. In 1970, CEOs made $25 for every $1 the average worker made. Due to technological advancements, production and profit levels exploded from 1970 - 2000. With the lion's share of increased profits going to the CEO's, this pay ratio dramatically rose to $90 for CEOs to $1 for the average worker.

As ridiculous as that seems, an in-depth study in 2004 on the explosion of CEO pay revealed that, including stock options and other benefits, CEO pay is more accurately $500 to $1.

Paul Buchheit, from DePaul University, revealed, "From 1980 to 2006 the richest 1% of America tripled their after-tax percentage of our nation's total income, while the bottom 90% have seen their share drop over 20%." Robert Freeman added, "Between 2002 and 2006, it was even worse: an astounding three-quarters of all the economy's growth was captured by the top 1%." .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/economy/145705/the_richest_1%25_have_captured_america%27s_wealth_--_what%27s_it_going_to_take_to_get_it_back

[Lasher]

1. Heap trickle-down tax breaks on top of that.

And that's how we arrive at the wealth inequity we have today.

[mwb970]

2. If I lived in a gated community, I'd be checking the gates about now.

The people will eventually turn on their oppressors. It won't be pretty!

[Jamastiene]

3. I wonder what the smart asses plan to do once they have ALL the freaking money?

Don't they realize that once they have ALL the money, which seems to be their goal, that it will do them no good? They need to remember the saying about paying attention how they treat people on the way up, because they are going to cross paths with those of us they screwed over on the way back down. We'll remember this shit.

WE are going to be the ones who rebuild this country.

That is a fact.

They sure the fuck aren't going to do it.

They don't have the skills.

Their jobs are to sit around on their asses making people homeless, because they foreclosed; watching people die because they denied health care coverage; and laughing their asses off all the way to the bank.

For the rest of us:
Seriously, we should all start making our own stuff and trading with each other. Some of us can farm, while others can make tools, music, art, technology, food, construction, etc. Cut out all the middle men and use our skills to enrich each other's lives. Start right back from the ground up, use our skills and intelligence to rebuild the country from the bottom up.

Let's take care of ourselves and each other the best we can. It'll be hard, but if we look at it as a chance to rebuild the American dream from the ground up, maybe, just maybe, then we can save the country.

Honestly, I don't see any other way at this point.

It is what people had to do back during the Depression. They had to make something out of nothing to survive. They suffered, but they did it. Maybe it will do us some good to change our entire mindset and realize how precious resources, skills, knowledge, and basic sustenance are. They are slowly putting us in that position anyhow. Why not make the best of it and step back for a minute and think?

Let the greedy bastards sit on their money. Yeah, it is THEIR money. I hope they are happy, because until we start rebuilding this country (and I mean us), we are just treading water while we watch them destroy everything we stand for.

It is time for us to take the American dream back with or without them.

How many people have to go homeless and die from treatable health care issues before we, the people, wake up and realize they really do look at us like we are cockroaches to be crushed under their feet?

They cant tear gas, bomb, shoot, maim, and Taser us ALL. They look at us like fucking cockroaches to be crushed anyhow. They need to remember, cockroaches will be here long after they are extinct. Sooner or later, if we persist and endure, we'll rebuild the country and they can sit in their gated communities, roll around in their filthy cash until they wither away.

Fuck 'em. :grr:

:nuke:

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Ganja Ninja]

5. A 90% tax rate on income and a wealth tax on assets over a billion dollars

would be a start.

[Doctor_J]

6. Guillotines are more likely than a tax increase in today's climate

[jody]

7. The 1% elite own over 50% of our financial wealth and control every major multinational corporation.

They use our military to protect their worldwide assets, our state department to negotiate on their behalf, our department of commerce to protect their trade arrangements, and the CIA to conduct industrial espionage.

Other than that the corporatist are all for democracy.

[Vidar]

8. Revolution, if our leaders continue pandering to the fuckers.

[Doctor_J]

9. I doubt it.

the teabaggers believe King Glenn when he tells them that tyranny of the banksters is good for them

[Vidar]

13. I doubt it too. That's why I look to Latin America & Europe for hope in this world.

[Kablooie]

10. Hey, Americans didn't revolt during the depression, why should we do so now?

[amandabeech]

17. We've been taught to blame ourselves.

There were disturbances during the depression, but once FDR was in charge, there was at least hope.

FDR tried anything that he thought might work. People thought that he was really trying, and Congress went along with him for the most part.

He didn't call banksters savvy businessmen and he wasn't afraid of or trying to curry favor with those of wealth. He'd grown up with them and the bloom was off that rose.

Unfortunately, Obama is no FDR. He seems to be enthralled by wealth and by economic theories that simply don't work. Congress isn't exactly helping him.

It's like we're living through something like the Hoover administration, the actions of which were bounded by the economic theories of the day.

We'll get someone who's not afraid eventually, but that person may be on the right rather than the left.

[northernlights]

20. um...yes they did

or did you forget your sarcasm or rofl smiley?

[Union Yes]

11. Tax accumulated superwealth. Savings, holdings, assets over $5 million..

in net worth should be taxed annually similar to a property tax.

Taxed progressively in brackets starting at $5 million in net worth. Higher net worth moves into a higher tax bracket.

Billionaires would fall into the highest tax bracket.

We could solve our budget crisis and debt problems and reinvigorate America's economy with a plan like this.

[Uncle Joe]

12. This is an excellent read.

As mentioned before, just look at the first full year of the crisis when workers lost an average of 25 percent off their 401k. During the same time period, the wealth of the 400 richest Americans increased by $30 billion, bringing their total combined wealth to $1.57 trillion, which is more than the combined net worth of 50% of the US population. Just to make this point clear, 400 people have more wealth than 155 million people combined.

<snip>

If our income had kept pace with compensation distribution rates established in the early 1970s, we would all be making at least three times as much as we are currently making. How different would your life be if you were making $120,000 a year, instead of $40,000?
<snip>

In total, the average US citizen is forced to give up approximately 30% of our income in taxes. This tax system is now strategically designed to flow straight into the hands of the Economic Elite. A huge percentage of our tax dollars ultimately end up in their pockets. The past decade proves that -- whether it's the Republicans or the Democrats running the government -- our tax money is not going into our community, it is going into the pockets of the billionaires who have bought off both parties - it is obscene.

<snip>

Trillions more in our spending on food and fuel has been stolen due to fraudulent stock transactions and overcharging. Just ten years ago, in 2000, American families paid 7% of our income on food and fuel. We now pay 20%. This drastic increase is primarily driven by fraudulent market manipulation that drives up stock prices. Congress uncovered this in 2006, as part of the Enron investigation they found that companies manipulated the oil market to create major spikes in stock values, and then they didn't do anything about it - nothing to see here, just move on.

<snip>

Thanks for the thread, marmar.

[amborin]

14. 2010 is a generation-skipping year i believe:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x68129

[JohnWxy]

15. great article. bookmarked. (tried to recommend but was beyond time-limit)

[katty]

16. this is the real war-and so obvious to I.D., in the U.S. and

in many other nations.

[KoKo]

18. K&R!

:kick:

[SandWalker1984]

19. According to IRS stats, richest 400 income rose 31% but tax rate dropped 3.2%

What's YOUR tax rate?

The average rate for the wealthiest 400 in this country is now down to a low of 16.6%

Enjoy that little statistic as you sit down to do your 1040 this year. :sarcasm:

[Kablooie]

21. Simple - Robin Hood.

Robin Hood, Robin Hood, riding through the glen,
Robin Hood, Robin Hood, with his band of men,
Feared by the bad, loved by the good,
Robin Hood! Robin Hood! Robin Hood!

Oh wait a minute ... He was English, not American ...


nevermind.