Separate but unequal: Charts show growing rich-poor gap

[ABikerSailor]

Really? Because I worked in a job for over 20 years where my name was stenciled to the front of my shirt, and I never made more than 38,000/yr.

My job was being active duty in the U.S. Navy.

You think your dog is better trained than me?

Not in the least. Please show me where I mentioned the US Military at all. I have great respect for the US Military in all five of its branches. Those are not the jobs I was talking about in any way. Somehow I think you already realize that.

The jobs I'm talking about are the zero-thought, zero-skill, oftentimes zero-work positions that make up the bottom rungs or our economy. The jobs which are largely filled with people who can't do anything more than that; most often because of mistakes they made themselves.

Quick question.........got any links to legitimate sites that back up your bullshit, or is it just your "better than you" attitude that blinds you?

 

[Oddball]

Trickle down economics doesn't work, and never will. Why? The people at the top don't spend much.

For every dollar that one of the 2 percent gets, it only generates 1.03 for the economy.

For every dollar that the rest of us get, it generates 1.63 for the economy.

Why? Simple.......poor and middle class people spend their money when they get it for stuff like food, clothing, housing and stuff like that.

The rich? They spend it on investments.

Another place where you can see trickle down fail in real life is to look at the water wars going on between ranchers and farmers. Those at the top of the stream use up whatever they need, leaving the rest to go downstream.

Only trouble is..............those at the bottom of the stream rarely get any water. Look to California for examples.

Quick question.........got any links to legitimate sites that back up your bullshit, or is it just your "better than you" attitude that blinds you?

 

[skeptic]

Wed Feb 23, 5:13 pm ET
Separate but unequal: Charts show growing rich-poor gap

The Great Recession and the slump that followed have triggered a jobs crisis that's been making headlines since before President Obama was in office, and that will likely be with us for years. But the American economy is also plagued by a less-noted, but just as serious, problem: Simply put, over the last 30 years, the gap between rich and poor has widened into a chasm.

Gradual developments like this don't typically lend themselves to news coverage. But Mother Jones magazine has crunched the data on inequality, and put together a group of stunning new charts. Taken together, they offer a dramatic visual illustration of who's doing well and who's doing badly in modern America.

Here are three samples:

• This chart shows that the poorest 90 percent of Americans make an average of $31,244 a year, while the top 1 percent make over $1.1 million:

Get used to it. Increased wealth disparity is viewed as a necessary "evil" since the middle class, esp the American middle class simply can not be trusted with money.

If the middle class paupers have money they will use it to uselessly consume resources that are far too valuable to be so carelessly wasted.

Ironically even more egregious patterns of consumption occur in the developing world where the bulk of all surplus is plowed into, or invested into, a swelling population of useless eaters.

 

[Anachronism]

Quick question.........got any links to legitimate sites that back up your bullshit, or is it just your "better than you" attitude that blinds you?

No links, and the attitude is not just mine. It's been handed down in my family for a long time.......

From my ancestors who showed up on these shores a mere couple of decades after the Mayflower; to my ancestors who were on the move to Cambridge, MA by the end of the day on April 19, 1775; to the ones who were involved in lynching a Tory in Essex, CT after the American Revolution; to the ones who fought on both sides of the War of Northern Aggression; to those who rode for the Pony Express; to those who died on Omaha Beach; to my father who turned down two separate deferments to accept a draft notice when he knew it was a sure ticket to Vietnam; to my Great-Grandmother who threw a US Census Bureau officer out of her home for refusing to list her ancestory/heritage as AMERICAN; to my cousin who volunteered to go to Bosnia for a year and who has taken three "Vacations" to Afghanistan as a member of the 82nd Airborne.

It's something we're inordinantly proud of. We've shed more blood (our own and the blood of others) for the sake of this country than most families can say they have. We've stood tall and proud through the good and bad times in this country. Hopefully we'll see these bad times through as well, into a new, revitalized, and course-corrected United States that my ancestors would approve of rather than the one we have now.

 

[skeptic]

So? Where in the Constitution does it specify the right to be equally wealthy as others? Oh, that's right. It doesn't.

actually it does and doesn't. Money is political power. The intentions of the constitution as stated are both supported and undermined by excessive wealth disparity.

Not that that would have bothered the founders, but it certainly runs afoul of how the constitution has been amended.

 

[ABikerSailor]

Quick question.........got any links to legitimate sites that back up your bullshit, or is it just your "better than you" attitude that blinds you?

No links, and the attitude is not just mine. It's been handed down in my family for a long time.......

From my ancestors who showed up on these shores a mere couple of decades after the Mayflower; to my ancestors who were on the move to Cambridge, MA by the end of the day on April 19, 1775; to the ones who were involved in lynching a Tory in Essex, CT after the American Revolution; to the ones who fought on both sides of the War of Northern Aggression; to those who rode for the Pony Express; to those who died on Omaha Beach; to my father who turned down two separate deferments to accept a draft notice when he knew it was a sure ticket to Vietnam; to my Great-Grandmother who threw a US Census Bureau officer out of her home for refusing to list her ancestory/heritage as AMERICAN; to my cousin who volunteered to go to Bosnia for a year and who has taken three "Vacations" to Afghanistan as a member of the 82nd Airborne.

It's something we're inordinantly proud of. We've shed more blood (our own and the blood of others) for the sake of this country than most families can say they have. We've stood tall and proud through the good and bad times in this country. Hopefully we'll see these bad times through as well, into a new, revitalized, and course-corrected United States that my ancestors would approve of rather than the one we have now.

So......in other words, your snooty attitude is born from many years of bigotry that has been passed down to you via your ancestry.

Got it..........you're a dirtbag with money who thinks they are better than everyone else because of their family.

Got news for you sportcheck, you ain't better than everyone else, just more conceited.

 

[Anachronism]

So......in other words, your snooty attitude is born from many years of bigotry that has been passed down to you via your ancestry.

Got it..........you're a dirtbag with money who thinks they are better than everyone else because of their family.

Got news for you sportcheck, you ain't better than everyone else, just more conceited.

With the exception of the "with money" part you're pretty much dead on. We're strictly middle class in this family. No silver spoons. No mansions. Nothing like that.

 

[ABikerSailor]

So......in other words, your snooty attitude is born from many years of bigotry that has been passed down to you via your ancestry.

Got it..........you're a dirtbag with money who thinks they are better than everyone else because of their family.

Got news for you sportcheck, you ain't better than everyone else, just more conceited.

With the exception of the "with money" part you're pretty much dead on. We're strictly middle class in this family. No silver spoons. No mansions. Nothing like that.

My Grandfather was 1st generation immigrant from Norway. He did more for this country that you did, I'm pretty sure.......

He and his company built over half the road system in Montana.

 

[California Girl]

So......in other words, your snooty attitude is born from many years of bigotry that has been passed down to you via your ancestry.

Got it..........you're a dirtbag with money who thinks they are better than everyone else because of their family.

Got news for you sportcheck, you ain't better than everyone else, just more conceited.

With the exception of the "with money" part you're pretty much dead on. We're strictly middle class in this family. No silver spoons. No mansions. Nothing like that.

But you have more than GayBikerBoy. Therefore you are fair game. That he could get up off that ass of his and work for a living is beside the point.

 

[California Girl]

So......in other words, your snooty attitude is born from many years of bigotry that has been passed down to you via your ancestry.

Got it..........you're a dirtbag with money who thinks they are better than everyone else because of their family.

Got news for you sportcheck, you ain't better than everyone else, just more conceited.

With the exception of the "with money" part you're pretty much dead on. We're strictly middle class in this family. No silver spoons. No mansions. Nothing like that.

My Grandfather was 1st generation immigrant from Norway. He did more for this country that you did, I'm pretty sure.......

He and his company built over half the road system in Montana.

A pissing contest over whose family has done more for the country? Really? Are you that pathetic?

Put down the bong, Gay. You're making yourself look silly.

 

[ABikerSailor]

With the exception of the "with money" part you're pretty much dead on. We're strictly middle class in this family. No silver spoons. No mansions. Nothing like that.

My Grandfather was 1st generation immigrant from Norway. He did more for this country that you did, I'm pretty sure.......

He and his company built over half the road system in Montana.

A pissing contest over whose family has done more for the country? Really? Are you that pathetic?

Put down the bong, Gay. You're making yourself look silly.

Fuck off twat lips. Everyone on here knows that you're the queen of bitchiness and rarely (if ever) have anything valid or useful to contribute.

I mean........your posts reflect quite a bit of that Chlamydia Swirl.

 

[kiwiman127]

REAL WAGES
1964-2004
Average Weekly Earnings (in 1982 constant dollars)
For all private nonfarm workers
Year Real $ Change
1964 302.52
1965 310.46 2.62%
1966 312.83 0.76%
1967 311.30 -0.49%
1968 315.37 1.31%
1969 316.93 0.49%
1970 312.94 -1.26%
1971 318.05 1.63%
1972 331.59 4.26%
1973 331.39 -0.06%
1974 314.94 -4.96%
1975 305.16 -3.11%
1976 309.61 1.46%
1977 310.99 0.45%
1978 310.41 -0.19%
1979 298.87 -3.72%
1980 281.27 -5.89%
1981 277.35 -1.39%
1982 272.74 -1.66%
1983 277.50 1.75%
1984 279.22 0.62%
1985 276.23 -1.07%
1986 276.11 -0.04%
1987 272.88 -1.17%
1988 270.32 -0.94%
1989 267.27 -1.13%
1990 262.43 -1.81%
1991 258.34 -1.56%
1992 257.95 -0.15%
1993 258.12 0.07%
1994 259.97 0.72%
1995 258.43 -0.59%
1996 259.58 0.44%
1997 265.22 2.17%
1998 271.87 2.51%
1999 274.64 1.02%
2000 275.62 0.36%
2001 275.38 -0.09%
2002 278.91 1.28%
2003 279.94 0.37%
2004 277.57 -0.84%
Source The US Department of Labor

http://www.workinglife.org/wiki/Wages+and+Benefits:+Real+Wages+(1964-2004)

The above chart says it all.
Businesses have received high productivity and very good profits, yet the money stays at the top. Executive pay has sky-rocketed from a 30 to 1 ratio to a 300 to 1 ratio.
Now we have corporate friendly groups such as ALEC who are trying to get rid of the Minimum Wage, while busting unions and ALEC is funded by the large corporations.
Maybe it won't effect many of the older posters but the younger posters will suffer and almost everyone's children and grand children will suffer low wages and a much lower standard of living.
Also, what's going to happen to our consumer driven economy? Over two-thirds of the US economy is driven by consumer spending, but with diminished expendable income, how is our consumer driven economy going to survive? the working class are the consumer class.
Finally, the Wealth Gap hasn't been this bad since prior to the Great Recession and historical facts show how well that worked for the US economy.

 

[kiwiman127]

This thread certainly shows that ideology has over-taken some people's thought process.
I would care to bet that a majority that favor those who are holding down wages over the working and shrinking Middle Class, are victims of stagnant wages. But their ideology has made them blind to the fact.
They just bend over and say "thank you sir".
But I bet they think they are great patriots while getting screwed over and really want this rape to continue. Bye-bye US economy! Bye-bye consumer driven capitalist economy.

 

[Oddball]

So? Where in the Constitution does it specify the right to be equally wealthy as others? Oh, that's right. It doesn't.

actually it does and doesn't. Money is political power. The intentions of the constitution as stated are both supported and undermined by excessive wealth disparity.

Not that that would have bothered the founders, but it certainly runs afoul of how the constitution has been amended.

???

 

[Avorysuds]

So......in other words, your snooty attitude is born from many years of bigotry that has been passed down to you via your ancestry.

Got it..........you're a dirtbag with money who thinks they are better than everyone else because of their family.

Got news for you sportcheck, you ain't better than everyone else, just more conceited.

With the exception of the "with money" part you're pretty much dead on. We're strictly middle class in this family. No silver spoons. No mansions. Nothing like that.

My Grandfather was 1st generation immigrant from Norway. He did more for this country that you did, I'm pretty sure.......

He and his company built over half the road system in Montana.

Ironic and hypocritical, are you done making a fool of yourself?

Maybe you can offer us a way to fix the issue of the wealth gap rather than flexing your nuts on the internet. How would YOU get people to start working and open small businesses for themselves rather than work the massively ever growing taco bell/wall mart based market?

Put your ass on the line and maybe we’ll talk. When you realize that people gravitate to simplistic jobs that anyone can do that creates leaches on the system maybe you will realize there is very little you can do to help people by making it easier. You should know this, you’re in the military, tell me you don’t see these kind of people all over the place?

 

[Bfgrn]

I don't necessarily agree that we should have legislation that 'favors the wealthy' but... I certainly do not see other people's money as some justification to force them to carry my share of the country's burden.

If you create an unfavorable environment for wealth, that wealth leaves. Ask any country who has tried it. It has never worked to over burden them.... they are the ones with the ability to take their 'wealth' away. I would rather treat them fairly - just like everyone else.

Given the rising levels of wealth concentrated in the top 4% of Americans since the Reagan tax cuts, it does not appear that they are overburdened.

Trickle down did not work. The idea that dumping money on the rich which would trickle down to the working class shows that the rich just kept the extra money

The idea that if we are not "nice" to rich people they will leave is lame. There is too much money to be made

I suggest you go research what has happened to other countries who tried to over-burden the wealthy. Each and every time, the country has lost. The rich take their money and go elsewhere. If you think America is the only place those people can 'make money', you could not be more wrong.

It's naive to think you can keep grabbing other people's money and expect them to sit back and do nothing. It doesn't work that way. It never has. It never will. Learn from history.

They already are going elsewhere with their money...it is called outsourcing. If you want to cite history, then every wealthy American would have left the country between the end of WWII and the mid 1960's.

 

[zzzz]

Look at this chart and see if you agree with reality or your perception is wrong.

As you can see most people believe that they share more of the wealth than they really do. It kinda makes one think. 90% of the people make a median wage of approximately $30,000 a year.

 

[kiwiman127]

Wow, the largest segment of the US population has been getting screwed over as facts show and these ideological brainwashed no-minds are defending the rapist!
Their arguments are weak and sans facts to support their arguments and we're supposed to respect their conjecture?
These clowns won't be happy until the entire working class (including themselves, their children and their grandchildren) are making wages comparable to third world countries, just so their corporate masters keep rolling in the dough. Talk about submissive.

 

[Oddball]

This thread certainly shows that ideology has over-taken some people's thought process.

Project much?

 

[Sallow]

Wow. I'm in the top 20? Who knew..

Anyway..my salary is a pittance in NYC. 6 figures don't buy much.