Big Lie: The Rich Get Richer, The Poor Get Poorer

[Clementine]

Some of us can actually read and digest current/historical economic and financial data - such as words, charts, graphs, etc...

I anxiously await your interpretation of the CBO report. Or are they being ignored by the left now since they also told the truth about the real cost of Obamacare?

Why do so many liberals have hit and run posts that just insult? And when challenged, simply claim they know what they are talking about, but refuse to engage in a real debate with facts. In lieu of articulating their point, they simply provide a link to some lefty site, as if that actually means anything. If a person has an opinion, they should be able to argue the finer points on their own. Perhaps many are like their idol and require someone else to write an opinion so they can simply read and regurgitate it.

The statistics, especially the IRS, don't lie about the money people are making. I realize that for a large percent of the population, they can't discuss wages, taxes and the cost of living because they don't have to worry about that. I think a lot of people who get tax payer money really believe that no one should be better off than they are. They hate the middle class and wealthy because they know they don't have enough intelligence or ambition to catch up. So, the next best thing is to run to nanny government and whine. Since government created this mess, of course they'll act sympathetic and blame the wealthy because they need this division of classes and races to justify all the socialist policies they push.

Thomas Sowell is an incredibly talented writer and highly intelligent. I can't say the same about anyone in the current administration.

 

[OohPooPahDoo]

Some of us can actually read and digest current/historical economic and financial data - such as words, charts, graphs, etc...

I anxiously await your interpretation of the CBO report. Or are they being ignored by the left now since they also told the truth about the real cost of Obamacare?

Why do so many liberals have hit and run posts that just insult? And when challenged, simply claim they know what they are talking about, but refuse to engage in a real debate with facts. In lieu of articulating their point, they simply provide a link to some lefty site, as if that actually means anything. If a person has an opinion, they should be able to argue the finer points on their own. Perhaps many are like their idol and require someone else to write an opinion so they can simply read and regurgitate it.

The statistics, especially the IRS, don't lie about the money people are making. I realize that for a large percent of the population, they can't discuss wages, taxes and the cost of living because they don't have to worry about that. I think a lot of people who get tax payer money really believe that no one should be better off than they are. They hate the middle class and wealthy because they know they don't have enough intelligence or ambition to catch up. So, the next best thing is to run to nanny government and whine. Since government created this mess, of course they'll act sympathetic and blame the wealthy because they need this division of classes and races to justify all the socialist policies they push.

Thomas Sowell is an incredibly talented writer and highly intelligent. I can't say the same about anyone in the current administration.

Why is the period from 2007 to 2009 chosen? Because it gives the results you want?

 

[BDBoop]

Rich people - aren't those the ones with the built-in safety net?

And where does Thomas Sowell think the middle class went, anyway.

How America's Losing The War On Poverty : NPR

While President Obama and Gov. Romney battle for the hearts and minds of the middle class this election season, there's a huge swath of Americans that are largely ignored. It's the poor, and their ranks are growing.

According to a recent survey by The Associated Press, the number of Americans living at or below the poverty line will reach its highest point since President Johnson made his famous declaration of war on poverty in 1964.

Close to 16 percent of Americans now live at or below the poverty line. For a family of four, that's $23,000 a year. On top of that, 100 million of us — 1 out of 3 Americans — manage to survive on a household income barely twice that amount. How is this poverty crisis happening?

'I've Never Seen Anything As Bad As Now'

Across the nation, food banks are reporting giant spikes in demand. The food pantry in Webster Springs, W.Va., used to serve 30 families a month just three years ago. Today, 150 families in that county — of just 9,000 people — depend on the food pantry run by Catholic Charities.

This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America. I urge this Congress and all Americans to join with me in that effort.

- President Lyndon B. Johnson, 1964 State of the Union address

Webster Springs is a hard-hit area. Two coal mines have closed down there in the past year. The median income is around $20,000. Yet the crisis is also taking place right in our nation's capital.

At the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington, D.C., forklifts move huge pallets of food around this giant warehouse. This year, they expect to give out 33 million pounds of food — a record. Close to 700,000 people in the region are now at risk of going hungry.

"In my lifetime, I've never seen anything as bad as now," says Lynn Brantley, who runs the facility. She's been working with food pantries for four decades and describes what's happening today as a hunger crisis. "It's growing into the middle class."

 

[hortysir]

Perhaps the biggest lie of this election year, and the one likely to be repeated the most often, is that the income of “the rich” is going up, while other people’s incomes are going down. If you listen to Barack Obama, you are bound to hear this lie repeatedly.

Cecilie neg repped me for even asking, but I'll do it again

LINK?

Income for everyone, on average, from 79 to 07 went UP by 62%

However, from 07 to 09 it fell by 12%.

CBO doesn't have numbers yet for 10 to 12

This is TOTAL household incomes.

There is a wealth (no pun) of information on thei page:
CBO | The Distribution of Household Income and Federal Taxes, 2008 and 2009

Some might like this little image:

 

[kiwiman127]

Instead of taking Sowell's cherry picked years, let's expand it by just one year and what do we get?
The June 2012 Federal Reserve bulletin also found that while the median income for the average American fell dramatically between 2007 and 2010, the median income for the wealthiest Americans stayed essentially level.
http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/bulletin/2012/PDF/scf12.pdf
If Sowell isn't a political hack economist, then what is Krugman?

 

[rightwinger]

Instead of taking Sowell's cherry picked years, let's expand it by just one year and what do we get?
The June 2012 Federal Reserve bulletin also found that while the median income for the average American fell dramatically between 2007 and 2010, the median income for the wealthiest Americans stayed essentially level.
http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/bulletin/2012/PDF/scf12.pdf
If Sowell isn't a political hack economist, then what is Krugman?

Sowell revealed how much he has sold out by publishing such an obviously misleading analysis

 

[hortysir]

Instead of taking Sowell's cherry picked years, let's expand it by just one year and what do we get?
The June 2012 Federal Reserve bulletin also found that while the median income for the average American fell dramatically between 2007 and 2010, the median income for the wealthiest Americans stayed essentially level.
http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/bulletin/2012/PDF/scf12.pdf
If Sowell isn't a political hack economist, then what is Krugman?

Guess the OP is wrong, then.

From the link:

By percentile of net worth, median income fell for every group, with the smallest decline occurring for the top 10 percent of wealth holders, for whom income fell 1.4 percent

Guess we're ALL getting poorer

 

[Cecilie1200]

Some of us can actually read and digest current/historical economic and financial data - such as words, charts, graphs, etc...

I anxiously await your interpretation of the CBO report. Or are they being ignored by the left now since they also told the truth about the real cost of Obamacare?

Why do so many liberals have hit and run posts that just insult? And when challenged, simply claim they know what they are talking about, but refuse to engage in a real debate with facts. In lieu of articulating their point, they simply provide a link to some lefty site, as if that actually means anything. If a person has an opinion, they should be able to argue the finer points on their own. Perhaps many are like their idol and require someone else to write an opinion so they can simply read and regurgitate it.

The statistics, especially the IRS, don't lie about the money people are making. I realize that for a large percent of the population, they can't discuss wages, taxes and the cost of living because they don't have to worry about that. I think a lot of people who get tax payer money really believe that no one should be better off than they are. They hate the middle class and wealthy because they know they don't have enough intelligence or ambition to catch up. So, the next best thing is to run to nanny government and whine. Since government created this mess, of course they'll act sympathetic and blame the wealthy because they need this division of classes and races to justify all the socialist policies they push.

Thomas Sowell is an incredibly talented writer and highly intelligent. I can't say the same about anyone in the current administration.

Why is the period from 2007 to 2009 chosen? Because it gives the results you want?

Because it's the most recent report released, dumbass. It takes time to compile all relevant stats and analyze them. Duuuhhh.

 

[Cecilie1200]

Instead of taking Sowell's cherry picked years, let's expand it by just one year and what do we get?
The June 2012 Federal Reserve bulletin also found that while the median income for the average American fell dramatically between 2007 and 2010, the median income for the wealthiest Americans stayed essentially level.
http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/bulletin/2012/PDF/scf12.pdf
If Sowell isn't a political hack economist, then what is Krugman?

Sowell didn't "cherrypick" anything, numbfuck, but thanks for proving that you consider reading the source material to be unnecessary before commenting on it.

Sowell's column was about a report released by the CBO. It was the CBO that specified the parameters of their report, not Dr. Sowell.

 

[ItsjustmeIthink]

You tellin me that everyone's income fell right after the economy went to shit? That is Cray-Z! I never would have guessed..

 

[kiwiman127]

Instead of taking Sowell's cherry picked years, let's expand it by just one year and what do we get?
The June 2012 Federal Reserve bulletin also found that while the median income for the average American fell dramatically between 2007 and 2010, the median income for the wealthiest Americans stayed essentially level.
http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/bulletin/2012/PDF/scf12.pdf
If Sowell isn't a political hack economist, then what is Krugman?

Sowell didn't "cherrypick" anything, numbfuck, but thanks for proving that you consider reading the source material to be unnecessary before commenting on it.

Sowell's column was about a report released by the CBO. It was the CBO that specified the parameters of their report, not Dr. Sowell.

There are enough other reports that mirror the linked Fed report that go beyond the obvious regarding 2008-2009, yet Sowell decided to use but one report to consider for his piece. That is cherry-picking. OK sweetie?
Sowell=Krugman

 

[rightwinger]

Instead of taking Sowell's cherry picked years, let's expand it by just one year and what do we get?
The June 2012 Federal Reserve bulletin also found that while the median income for the average American fell dramatically between 2007 and 2010, the median income for the wealthiest Americans stayed essentially level.
http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/bulletin/2012/PDF/scf12.pdf
If Sowell isn't a political hack economist, then what is Krugman?

Sowell didn't "cherrypick" anything, numbfuck, but thanks for proving that you consider reading the source material to be unnecessary before commenting on it.

Sowell's column was about a report released by the CBO. It was the CBO that specified the parameters of their report, not Dr. Sowell.

Sowell is an academic hack for trying to pass off such crap. Just a "coincidence" that the two years he picked happened to be a stock market collapse

Why didn't he choose the last 30 years since the Reagan revolution?
Why didn't he pick the last 10 years since the Bush tax cuts?
No, he picked the only two year period when rich people actually lost money. He is a hack and you are a hack for parroting his biased analysis

 

[Cecilie1200]

Instead of taking Sowell's cherry picked years, let's expand it by just one year and what do we get?
The June 2012 Federal Reserve bulletin also found that while the median income for the average American fell dramatically between 2007 and 2010, the median income for the wealthiest Americans stayed essentially level.
http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/bulletin/2012/PDF/scf12.pdf
If Sowell isn't a political hack economist, then what is Krugman?

Sowell didn't "cherrypick" anything, numbfuck, but thanks for proving that you consider reading the source material to be unnecessary before commenting on it.

Sowell's column was about a report released by the CBO. It was the CBO that specified the parameters of their report, not Dr. Sowell.

There are enough other reports that mirror the linked Fed report that go beyond the obvious regarding 2008-2009, yet Sowell decided to use but one report to consider for his piece. That is cherry-picking. OK sweetie?
Sowell=Krugman

Actually, your half-assed, uninformed attempts to find ANYBODY who sounds like they're contradicting Dr. Sowell is NOT okay, "sweetie".

Why don't you tell me the difference between "average" and "median", and maybe I'll start to consider you worth discussing this with? Until then, all I hear from you is, "Blah blah blah, it doesn't exist if I don't want it to."

 

[rightwinger]

Most academians would look at the data from 2007-2009 and conclude that the stock market and resulting economic collapse had hurt everyone and the rich took a bigger hit during those years

Political hack Sowell used it as an attempt to make the argument that it is a LIE thta the rich have been getting richer in our society

 

[Widdekind]

The June 2012 Federal Reserve bulletin also found that while the median income for the average American fell dramatically between 2007 and 2010, the median income for the wealthiest Americans stayed essentially level.
http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/bulletin/2012/PDF/scf12.pdf

Perhaps you misinterpreted what they wrote? On page 14, deep into the paper, and well past the executive summary, they compared the incomes, in 2010 vs. 2007, of Americans, ranked according to net worth. Those having the highest net worth, in 2007, had average incomes 1.4% higher, than those having the highest net worth, in 2010. Seemingly, those whose wealth was not wiped out in 2008, and so who remained in the highest net worth brackets, did not lose much income, either. That is biased, however, looking only at those few who survived 2008 unscathed -- those not affected by 2008 (by wealth) were not affected by 2008 (by income). Sure, not every single person everywhere was affected by 2008.

However, the executive summary is consistent with the OP -- in general, wealthier people had more investments, and those who had "more riding on the expansion" before 2008 were more impacted by the ensuing recession. Lower income earners were less affected. 2008 was "good" for (nearly) nobody. 2008 was an economy-wide bust.

 

[Katzndogz]

The rich get richer and the poor get richer too. There is a huge difference between being poor in America and being poor anywhere else in the world. Except for Greece and we know how that turns out.

 

[kwc57]

Problem is, any monies collected will NEVER go towards debt reduction.
It will, merely, be more money to spend.

Problem is, any monies collected will NEVER go towards debt reduction.
It will, merely, be more money to spend

well as it turned out - the Democrats placed HealthCare as their top priority and called the Republicans for their bluff and to bad the Republican Propaganda lost the battle.

And how much was SPENT and how much further in DEBT did it put us.


There's a reason why they're called "Tax & Spend Democrats"

No, no, no.....you don't understand. Healthcare is FREE!

 

[nitroz]

Guess what, it's not a lie.

 

[kiwiman127]

Sowell didn't "cherrypick" anything, numbfuck, but thanks for proving that you consider reading the source material to be unnecessary before commenting on it.

Sowell's column was about a report released by the CBO. It was the CBO that specified the parameters of their report, not Dr. Sowell.

There are enough other reports that mirror the linked Fed report that go beyond the obvious regarding 2008-2009, yet Sowell decided to use but one report to consider for his piece. That is cherry-picking. OK sweetie?
Sowell=Krugman

Actually, your half-assed, uninformed attempts to find ANYBODY who sounds like they're contradicting Dr. Sowell is NOT okay, "sweetie".

Why don't you tell me the difference between "average" and "median", and maybe I'll start to consider you worth discussing this with? Until then, all I hear from you is, "Blah blah blah, it doesn't exist if I don't want it to."

 

[Toro]

Over the last four days, stocks have risen 3%.

Since the rich own most of the stocks and the poor none, we can safely conclude - based on the last four days - income inequality has dramatically widened. I'm going to write a column about it.