The US Is Officially A Banana Republic: The Top 1% Now Own More Wealth Than The Entire Middle Class

[Mac1958]

The estate tax is not theft. The modern estate tax was passed by Republicans in 1916 as way to forestall the creation of a permanent upper class, ala England and its aristocracy. The estate tax has been a resounding success. It has created a country with unprecedented prosperity and until recently a relatively mild gap between the richest Americans and the middle class. To do away with the estate tax would create a permanent super rich upper class. This country would then appear more third world then first world.

The current law is fine. A married couple can pass over 22 million dollars tax free. I see no reason to change it.

Pretty amazing watching the devotees of "Greed Is Good" suddenly doing a full one-eighty and going ersatz populist.

Those darn rich guys!

 

[pknopp]

With all due respect (I am NOT being sarcastic), it is possible that many African Americans -- despite segregation -- led happier lives back then than many do today when you consider the role that illicit drugs play in the African American community nowadays and the unprecedented amount of violent crime committed now by a disproportionate number of young men of that community.

Screw off. Crime is largely a product of poverty. This entire thread is about how our system works to keep people in poverty. We've used our economic and justice system to keep people in poverty largely because people have been pissed they can no longer demand anyone get to the back of the bus.

 

[pknopp]

How does a billionaire get money for nothing vs an average American investing in the markets and earning interest or capital gains? The billionaire earns more for certain, but aren't both getting "money for nothing"?

We have covered this thousands of times. $1 for you, $1000 for me and we all should be happy.

 

[Leviticus]

Are you for trickle down price hikes that end up costing you in the form of a trickle down tax hike, because you want to make the job makers pay for your prejudice towards or against them ???

They them pay what they already owe. Do away with all their loopholes. The fact thatTrump paid only 750 bucks on an income of millions is a joke.... And its the same with most of them.

 

[Blues Man]

The US Is Officially A Banana Republic: ​

The Top 1% Now Own More Wealth Than The Entire Middle Class​

The US Is Officially A Banana Republic: The Top 1% Now Own More Wealth Than The Entire Middle Class

In some ways, we sympathize with Neel Kashkari's fake "concern" about the unprecedented we...

austrian.economicblogs.org

Summary:
In some ways, we sympathize with Neel Kashkari's fake "concern" about the unprecedented wealth inequality that has emerged in the US in recent years and which has resulted in a slow, methodical and relentless destruction of the US middle class ... or rather make that precedented because there was another time when the top 0.1% had amassed as much wealth and it was just before the Great Depression. After all, who hasn't seen charts such as these showing the tremendous divergence in income earned by America's Top 1% at the expense of the middle and lower classes: Or that the top 10% now own 70% of all the US wealth, the same as the middle and lower classes combined...... up 10% from the 60% of wealth they controlled at the start of the century.
~Snip~
It's not just stocks that have benefited the super rich: housing has too. While a generation ago, the middle class held more than 44% of real estate assets in the country, it is now down to 38%. The pandemic generated a boom in housing values that has benefited most those who owned real estate in the first place. It also led to soaring rents this year, which hurt those who can’t afford a house. The self-feeding loop was yet another source of wealth transfer for the wealthier.
So the next time someone abuses the popular phrase "they hate us for our [fill in the blank]", perhaps it's time to counter that "they" may not "hate" us at all, but rather are making fun of what has quietly and slowly but surely become the world's biggest banana republic?
And it has not Russia, nor China, nor any other foreign enemy to blame except one: the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States.
Full story here

Comment:
Historically, bad shit ensues when this is sustained. Given a fed-up heavily armed populace, well....
The 18th century French banker and philosopher named Richard Cantillon noticed a phenomenon that when new money was issued by the king/government, it always flowed first to those closest to the source - the rich, powerful and connected.
He wrote called ‘An Essay on Economic Theory,” and his basic theory was that who benefits when the state prints a bunch of money is based on the institutional setup of that state. In the 18th century, this meant that the closer you were to the king and government power, the more you benefitted. The rich received “new money” first, often on beneficial terms. The further away you were, ie) average workers, the more you were harmed, due to inflation and debasement.
Money, in other words, is not neutral. This general observation, that money printing has distributional consequences that operate through the price system, is known as the “Cantillon Effect.”
The solution is simple. Break up Amazon and apply the law to politicians that have become multi-millionaires by insider trading.

How are you defining wealth?

 

[DBA]

Pretty amazing watching the devotees of "Greed Is Good" suddenly doing a full one-eighty and going ersatz populist.

Those darn rich guys!

Confused as usual I see.

 

[TheParser]

Screw off. Crime is largely a product of poverty. This entire thread is about how our system works to keep people in poverty. We've used our economic and justice system to keep people in poverty largely because people have been pissed they can no longer demand anyone get to the back of the bus.

Thank you for your heartfelt opinion.

It does seem from election results in many states that a lot of Americans agree with you.

 

[22lcidw]

The estate tax is not theft. The modern estate tax was supported by TR and other Republicans and then passed into law in 1916 as way to forestall the creation of a permanent upper class, ala England and its aristocracy. The estate tax has been a resounding success. It has created a country with unprecedented prosperity and until recently a relatively mild gap between the richest Americans and the middle class. To do away with the estate tax would create a permanent super rich upper class. This country would then appear more third world then first world.

The current law is fine. A married couple can pass over 22 million dollars tax free. I see no reason to change it.

All of the stuff after the Federal Reserve Act in 1913 is predictable. The Central Government before that had to adhere to practices as written in the Constitution. Now in the latter part of the 19th Century the Industrialists came to be. A new era or segment of our nation. After the Federal Reserve was started it opened the doors to the quadrillions of pages of tax laws we see today. America was much more wide open to create millionaires back then who provided infrastructure. And that created many jobs and a growing middle class as it trickled down. The Federal Reserve today is our master. Artificially low rates are affecting areas of the economy domestically and around the world. We need to have foreign slaves to have cheaper products now. And the Progs have ph uked up the system of getting those products here. But they love pain. Pain gets them votes. And they get their legislation through and even if the other party comes to power, the new laws are entrenched and will grow. Never trust people who live royally pushing programs and agendas that are of sharing for most others. Humans never learn.

 

[DBA]

We have covered this thousands of times. $1 for you, $1000 for me and we all should be happy.

Yes, if that is the way the cookie crumbles. I don't deserve more money just because Patrick Mahomes makes 50 million per year to play a game. Mahomes making that much money doesn't preclude me from attempting to do the same. If I want his standard of living, I need to do something about it, not take it from him.

 

[Blues Man]

Screw off. Crime is largely a product of poverty. This entire thread is about how our system works to keep people in poverty. We've used our economic and justice system to keep people in poverty largely because people have been pissed they can no longer demand anyone get to the back of the bus.

So you think that taking some money from a rich guy will make it easier for other people to make more money?

I grew up poor and I mean really poor. I was put into foster care at 14. I lived on the streets for a couple years when I was a teenager. There were days that the only thing I had to eat was a a candy bar I stole from a store. I sold pot for a while to make money too.

I was granted emancipation at 17.

95% of success is nothing but grit, stubbornness, and perseverance. So many ( not all) can get out of poverty on their own regardless of the system.

 

[22lcidw]

All of this was predictable and preventable.

What got in the way? Ideology. As usual.

Why do Progs want to know about 600 dollar transactions for the peons in our banks? Why do they want expand the IRS in a massive way? Who do you think they are coming after? Add up all of the taxpayers who may see a couple hundred or several hundred dollars more in their taxes then others from people who work the tax jobs as equity hirings and it adds up to keep the federal reserve happy in our massive debt game.

 

[BluesLegend]

So, are you for or against tax increases and reforms on the upper 1%? Are you for or against the estate tax?

Why don't you losers stop trying to mooch off us and get your shit together FFS. Start a business, take risks. Asians come into the USA and seem to thrive. Get up off your fat lard asses and go after your own wealth you mooching deadbeats.

 

[BluesLegend]

They them pay what they already owe. Do away with all their loopholes. The fact thatTrump paid only 750 bucks on an income of millions is a joke.... And its the same with most of them.

Lib please the top 10% already pay 71% of the taxes paid how is that f'ing fair hmmm? We are carrying you losers.

 

[Leviticus]

Lib please the top 10% already pay 71% of the taxes paid how is that f'ing fair hmmm? We are carrying you losers.

the top 1% pay about 20% of their toal tax burdain thanks to loopholes

 

[pknopp]

Yes, if that is the way the cookie crumbles. I don't deserve more money just because Patrick Mahomes makes 50 million per year to play a game. Mahomes making that much money doesn't preclude me from attempting to do the same. If I want his standard of living, I need to do something about it, not take it from him.

Mahomes makes $50 million per year because the trillions that have been pumped into the markets has greatly inflated the "value" of the Kansas City Chiefs.

The kids who live around Arrowhead Stadium can no longer afford to go to a game.

In his final season (which is the number I quickly found) Terry Bradshaw made less than $500,000 dollars. How is that possible? Is it because manufacturing has boomed in Kansas City? No, it's because of the trillions that has been pumped into the markets. Why is it that some should overwhelming gain most of the benefit from this?

 

[pknopp]

So you think that taking some money from a rich guy will make it easier for other people to make more money?

I grew up poor and I mean really poor. I was put into foster care at 14. I lived on the streets for a couple years when I was a teenager. There were days that the only thing I had to eat was a a candy bar I stole from a store. I sold pot for a while to make money too.

I was granted emancipation at 17.

95% of success is nothing but grit, stubbornness, and perseverance. So many ( not all) can get out of poverty on their own regardless of the system.

No, I think we need to quit giving trillions to the rich.

 

[BluesLegend]

the top 1% pay about 20% of their toal tax burdain thanks to loopholes

Actual tax dollars PAID the top 10% pay 71% of them a fact that destroys your 'rate' BS. That's right we pay 71% of the tax dollars and who gets most of those tax dollars? Yes the bottom 90% so shove your fair share BS up your ass.

 

[Blues Man]

No, I think we need to quit giving trillions to the rich.

We're not.

 

[Resnic]

The US Is Officially A Banana Republic: ​

The Top 1% Now Own More Wealth Than The Entire Middle Class​

The US Is Officially A Banana Republic: The Top 1% Now Own More Wealth Than The Entire Middle Class

In some ways, we sympathize with Neel Kashkari's fake "concern" about the unprecedented we...

austrian.economicblogs.org

Summary:
In some ways, we sympathize with Neel Kashkari's fake "concern" about the unprecedented wealth inequality that has emerged in the US in recent years and which has resulted in a slow, methodical and relentless destruction of the US middle class ... or rather make that precedented because there was another time when the top 0.1% had amassed as much wealth and it was just before the Great Depression. After all, who hasn't seen charts such as these showing the tremendous divergence in income earned by America's Top 1% at the expense of the middle and lower classes: Or that the top 10% now own 70% of all the US wealth, the same as the middle and lower classes combined...... up 10% from the 60% of wealth they controlled at the start of the century.
~Snip~
It's not just stocks that have benefited the super rich: housing has too. While a generation ago, the middle class held more than 44% of real estate assets in the country, it is now down to 38%. The pandemic generated a boom in housing values that has benefited most those who owned real estate in the first place. It also led to soaring rents this year, which hurt those who can’t afford a house. The self-feeding loop was yet another source of wealth transfer for the wealthier.
So the next time someone abuses the popular phrase "they hate us for our [fill in the blank]", perhaps it's time to counter that "they" may not "hate" us at all, but rather are making fun of what has quietly and slowly but surely become the world's biggest banana republic?
And it has not Russia, nor China, nor any other foreign enemy to blame except one: the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States.
Full story here

Comment:
Historically, bad shit ensues when this is sustained. Given a fed-up heavily armed populace, well....
The 18th century French banker and philosopher named Richard Cantillon noticed a phenomenon that when new money was issued by the king/government, it always flowed first to those closest to the source - the rich, powerful and connected.
He wrote called ‘An Essay on Economic Theory,” and his basic theory was that who benefits when the state prints a bunch of money is based on the institutional setup of that state. In the 18th century, this meant that the closer you were to the king and government power, the more you benefitted. The rich received “new money” first, often on beneficial terms. The further away you were, ie) average workers, the more you were harmed, due to inflation and debasement.
Money, in other words, is not neutral. This general observation, that money printing has distributional consequences that operate through the price system, is known as the “Cantillon Effect.”
The solution is simple. Break up Amazon and apply the law to politicians that have become multi-millionaires by insider trading.

So? Without the ultra rich we wouldn't have smart phones, over night delivery, 4k TV's, international flights and so on. Their thirst for wealth and control is what drives progress. If everything was equal no one would want to dedicate their lives to something to improve it because there would be no need to, nothing to be gained.

Besides those few ultra wealthy are the reasons we have jobs, companies to work at, company financed healthcare, and a lot more. We depend on them for products, services and jobs and they depend on us to stay where they are.

Look at what things Elon musk and Jeff bezos have done and will do. If they couldn't be rich they probably wouldn't want to, and if everyone was equal in status who would bother listening to them? Their wealth made them be listened to.

They aren't some oppressive overlords, they are rich fucks that earned their money. And see my reply below as well.

This is why I support when people break things.

And that's why you're part of the problem. Because you condone bad behavior, reationalize it and support it.

You condone breaking shit because you have less? Then go get more. No one is stopping you. Bill Cosby was a broke black dude from Philly, aside from the rapings look what he did. Jeff bezos started out selling books in his garage. My doctor came from a broke ass family from south east Kentucky.

You can do more if you want to. Don't like where you are? Man the buss runs everyday. No one has an excuse anymore.

 

[Care4all]

So we are supposed to dismantle our entire economic system and prevent people from making money in the markets because you and your kind are envious? That is what it boils down to.

They are not paying the same tax rates as those earning their money, through working....through labor. They pay a lower tax rate than the guy working and earning the 100k...or 400k. Or 50k.