HEY! DLC! LOOK AT THIS!

[skids]

I know you all think you are our more experienced saviours, and your MBAs and experience in the "business world" and the "world of politics" and whatever other worlds it is that you all live in are an invaluable asset that you are gracious enough to share with us. But... sod off.

Some of the best leaders, some of the most savvy businessmen, some of the greatest minds came from us, the unwashed masses. We don't need you. Go incite division inside the Republican party, where you and the rest of the elitist belong and where you will all make your last stand as we reclaim this fine land, with liberty, and justice, for all.

We aren't dumb, we are just asleep, and even with all the wedges that have been driven between us, we know corruption and elitism when we see it. We also know that most of that small crowd up at the top of that there chart have done absolutely nothing at all to deserve their place up there. When the chips finally fall where they seem to be headed, we won't care about those wedges anymore. All we will care about is the honesty and competance of our representatives.

This country is ours. You are living on leased time.

[Richard Steele]

1. Recommended. n/t

[Stirk]

2. DLC= Republicans when it matters, Dems when it doesn't.

[LincolnMcGrath]

4. True Dat!

DLC= Republicans when it matters, Dems when it doesn't :rofl:

[loudsue]

7. "Crash & Burn, DLC! Howard Dean Speaks for ME!"

We're coming up with some good slogans today on DU! I found the one in the subject line on another thread today!

:yourock:


:kick::kick::kick:

[burrowowl]

9. About sums it up

They are a bit for ecology and that is about all, e.g., Lieberman.
However, if it affects Corporatists/Facsists; they for for th Corporatists over the people. Strange isn't it. May Hillary break the mold. Bill broke down under the so-called welfare reform - did he believe and is the best Republican President ever, or at least equal to Eisenhower, or did the Repukes have a real gun aimed at the back of his head?

Oh! Forgot: READ Kevin Philips: Wealth and Democracy! and get educated by a former Repblican!

[sandnsea]

3. liberal elitists

Same reason those "lots of us" stopped voting Democratic for the last 20 years, the liberal elites. Interesting.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

27. If I may:

QUIETER...MUCH, MUCH QUIETER.

[tmorelli415]

5. Can someone explain this for me?

Sorry - I feel dumb asking but I don't understand the chart. Help!

[skids]

6. I turned a wealth distribution chart sideways.

1% of the people in this country own 30+ percent of the wealth.

But they only own 1% of the ballots.

(On edit: A decile is a tenth, if that's what was confusing.)

[tmorelli415]

8. What is the $ value assigned to income column, etc?

Just wondering where the average American is on that chart. The middle class is voting Republican since 80s with exception of Clinton taking some of it.

I don't understand the income/wealth connection to DLC. Who benefits?

[skids]

11. The average american...

Is in the lower three deciles. Sum the percent in those three deciles, and it is well over 50% of the people in the country.

I'm not clear what you are asking in the second question, but as I have a housemate that works with DLC types, and I have myself worked in medium sized bureacracies, I can attest to you that in general, they have a sort of "mama knows best" mentality. Oh, the ones on the "left" are all for fighting for the poor, and for the middle class, and they wish us the best of luck, but they "know" that we can't possibly do anything right without their help and cannot be trusted with power or important decisions.

This mentality becomes a self-perpetuating myth among the "executive class" where they will do things like give exhorbitant raises to the executives of organizations on whose boards of directors they sit, while not giving anywhere near the same pay raises to the rank and file. And they really do love to sit on those boards of directors. Most of them have a feeling that executives actually deserve to be payed 2-4 times what the normal workers get paid (and apparently in some paces, much, much more) in spite of the fact that normal workers are also staying after hours, have more physically and in most cases, more mentally, demanding tasks, have greater financial need, and given the way the job market is going these days, just as much risk of losing their position.

But they don't view it like that. Because they have an advanced degree and come from a "cultured background" suddenly everything they touch turns to gold. If you've worked in a medium sized business environment where you actually have contact with upper management, you'll know exactly the type I'm getting at. Those same types are what the DLC is made of.

[tmorelli415]

15. What I mean to ask in the second question

is what is the income range of those people on the chart? I'm wondering what the first 3 deciles income levels are since that is the people who have the most votes.

What is the income of the 'executive class' DLC types? Trying to figure out where on the chart they fit in. I thought the super rich were mostly Republicans.

Was Bill Clinton a DLC? I thought the economy was pretty good then. Whatever heading it falls under now (maybe 'f*cked up?"), it is a lot worse at least.

I guess I don't consider myself either side of the argument. There's a lot of people on here lately who don't like DLC so I figured I ought to take the time to know what this is all about. I made the mistake a while back of trying to get the two sides together on a thread where they were attacking each other and ended up getting attacked myself! (I don't advise trying that.)

[bobbieinok]

24. Clinton was one of the founders of the DLC in the mid 80s

I think in philosophical political science jargon it's called the third wave.......in synch with the modern world

[punpirate]

12. Are you sure that was wealth?

Not income?

The figures I have is that, as of 2000, the accrued wealth of the top 1% exceeds that of the bottom 90%.

Even as of 1990, the top 1% had 42% of all accrued wealth. It's a higher percentage now. The top 5% have about 60% of all wealth, and the top 10% have about 80%.

I think the maldistribution of wealth is even worse than you describe.

Cheers.

[skids]

14. Yeah, see #10, I screwed up.

...and you are right, the correct chart would show an even worse disparity.

[Cobalt Violet]

18. But hasn't Diebolt changed that?

1% own all the vote.

[TahitiNut]

10. Uhhmmm... I hate to be anal, but you got it in reverse.

The 1st decile (tenth) "great unwashed" - that's the 10% with only about 1% of the income and a negative percentage of "wealth" (net worth).

The Y-axis is percent of the Income/Wealth ... not of the people/voters. The people are presented in the deciles.

The graph shows that the top 10% have nearly 30% of all the income and about 47% of all the wealth.

[skids]

13. Oops, well the point is still made...

...even if the shape of the graph is off, the relabel of the (now) X axis works. Actually I kinda like it, since the intent was to abuse the graph.

Yeah it is very hard to find a graph that actually groups by income, it turns out.

[lostnfound]

17. The irony is, that the DLC and GOP sees the graph as it is..

spending 90% of their time courting the 10th decile which has most of the money.

[tmorelli415]

16. Wealth Distribution Figures - SCARY!

Found some info that corresponds. At this point, the bottom 50% of the population has less than 2% of the entire wealth. The lowest 10% owns less than 1/10th of 1% of the wealth - that's *less* than 0.01% compared to the top 10% with about 71%! It is inconceivable how this country got into a situation like this.

I think Bush calls this the 'ownership society' (translation - "me and my friends own everything")

U.S. WEALTH DISTRIBUTION as of 2003

Decile .. Avg. Income . % of Wealth
1 . . . . >>>. . . . . . . .70.9%
2 . . . .$280,314 . . . . .12.4%
3 . . . .$159,644 . . . . . 7.6%
4 . . . . $76,646 . . . . . 4.3%
5 . . . . $51,538 . . . . . 3.1%
6 . . . . $38,892 . . . . . 1.4%
7-8 . . . $32,466 . . . . . .3%
9-10 . . $14,021. . . .<<< .01%

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

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

[TahitiNut]

20. The "Ownership Society" - the top 1% OWN 42%

Source: Edward N. Wolff, "Recent Trends in Wealth Ownership, 1983-1998," Levy Institute Working Paper No. 300, Table 6. (Levy Economics Institute: April, 2000)

[lonestarnot]

25. Plain and simple TRUTH of the matter right there!

[Octafish]

26. BushCo is doing to the US what Papa and Baby Doc Duvalier did to Haiti.

There, one-percent own 99-percent of what there is to own.

For proof, consider the tax policies, economic policies, foreign policies, domestic policies and every darn thing else both barreling Bushes have done. Oh yeah -- both Bushes also approved the violent overthrow of the first Democratically elected leader in Haiti in the 20th century, Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

[TahitiNut]

21. Distribution of U.S. Wealth, 2001

Total Net Worth in U.S.: $42.3892 trillion
($42,389,200,000,000)

Source: Arthur B. Kennickell, "A Rolling Tide: Changes in the Distribution of Wealth in the U.S., 1989-2001," Table 10. (Levy Economics Institute: November, 2003)

[in_cog_ni_to]

22. WE SHOULD ALL GO GREEN!

Just a thought. :) LOOK at who has fought for FAIR VOTING in Ohio! Democrats? Hell no. The GREEN PARTY! What would happen to the Democratic Party if ALL of US went Green? Just askin'. :hi:

[Tux]

23. I prefer Greens

But I can't vote that way in KY. I would love a Green Congress but most people won't vote for a 3rd party (unless libertarian party had good ideas for once) so it won't happen.

[intheflow]

28. Recommended!

Or I would have if this had been posted in the past 24-hours. I just missed the cut-off, apparently.

Great post! This is exactly how I feel. Data can be manipulated, sure, but your graph is the truth as I see it. :thumbsup: