US Income Inequality: Top !% Take Home 24% of US Income

[boedicca]

The richest 1 percent of Americans now take home almost 24 percent of income, up from almost 9 percent in 1976.

In 1976, the average worker could buy a house, send their kids to college, have full health insurance...all on one salary

Since then, the wealthiest 1% has convinced them that times are bad, they need to work harder, accept lower benefits at less pay..... all while pocketing more and more of available wealth

It's really a shame that the Federal Government implemented policies and regulations, and financed two GSEs which fueled the Real Estate Bubble and ruined the opportunity for home ownership for so many.

 

[thereisnospoon]

And the reason we want to drop the tax rate on the richest 1% ????

American workers have higher productivity and work more hours than any worker in the world....and have less to show for it

Really? Then why do we have one the highest home ownership rates( Germany's is 40%) in the modern world?
Why is that Americans get to retire even without the safety net of defined benefit pensions that Euro-Socialist countries provide for their people?
Look, if you're expecting Washington to give you a big pay day by stealing it from someone else, forget it.
I own my own home because I worked for it. Get it?

 

[shintao]

Shame to see people agrue over money, instead of the people who spent it. But the DC gang is all there or retired to the Caymans to bask in the sun. So while there was a change in guard, there will be no change in DC business. Just same-o same-o.....

 

[Woyzeck]

That qualifies the US as a third world nation.

U.S. Income Inequality: Top 1 Percent Take Home 24 Percent Of U.S. Income

The New York Times:

The richest 1 percent of Americans now take home almost 24 percent of income, up from almost 9 percent in 1976. As Timothy Noah of Slate noted in an excellent series on inequality, the United States now arguably has a more unequal distribution of wealth than traditional banana republics like Nicaragua, Venezuela and Guyana.

Read the whole story: The New York Times

That's just fucked up.

Although given recent trends of recent decades, and responses in this thread, not at all surprising.

 

[thereisnospoon]

The richest 1 percent of Americans now take home almost 24 percent of income, up from almost 9 percent in 1976.

In 1976, the average worker could buy a house, send their kids to college, have full health insurance...all on one salary

Since then, the wealthiest 1% has convinced them that times are bad, they need to work harder, accept lower benefits at less pay..... all while pocketing more and more of available wealth

Oh please spare us the union drumbeat horseshit, will you.

 

[shintao]

And the reason we want to drop the tax rate on the richest 1% ????

American workers have higher productivity and work more hours than any worker in the world....and have less to show for it

Yet, that is the way they want it to be, so really no sense laboring that point. Crazy, yeah, but I suspect they would rather work than be with their families, have less grandchildren, and die at a younger age. Rightys tend to be suicidal by nature.

 

[Zander]

The richest 1 percent of Americans now take home almost 24 percent of income, up from almost 9 percent in 1976.

In 1976, the average worker could buy a house, send their kids to college, have full health insurance...all on one salary

Since then, the wealthiest 1% has convinced them that times are bad, they need to work harder, accept lower benefits at less pay..... all while pocketing more and more of available wealth

Sorry Leftwinger, Wealth is not a "Zero sum" game.....

 

[thereisnospoon]

And the reason we want to drop the tax rate on the richest 1% ????

American workers have higher productivity and work more hours than any worker in the world....and have less to show for it

Yet, that is the way they want it to be, so really no sense laboring that point. Crazy, yeah, but I suspect they would rather work than be with their families, have less grandchildren, and die at a younger age. Rightys tend to be suicidal by nature.

Unbelievable.

 

[rightwinger]

The richest 1 percent of Americans now take home almost 24 percent of income, up from almost 9 percent in 1976.

In 1976, the average worker could buy a house, send their kids to college, have full health insurance...all on one salary

Since then, the wealthiest 1% has convinced them that times are bad, they need to work harder, accept lower benefits at less pay..... all while pocketing more and more of available wealth

Sorry Leftwinger, Wealth is not a "Zero sum" game.....

As the saying goes about the Golden Rule- "He who has the gold...makes the rules"

Has the wealth of the richest 1% increased from 9% to 24% because they have increased the standing of American industry in the world market? Have they lead a rising economic tide? Have they generated 3 times the wealth that was available in 1976?

Since 1976, the percentage of wealth controlled by the US in the world market has declined sharply. The American worker has seen his standard of living decline in this period, while the wealthiest 1% has almost tripled their wealth

The golden rule still applies......the richest 1% has gotten the rules changed so they pay less in taxes, have less stringent labor rules and is able to claim a larger slice of the pie

 

[Sallow]

You truly have a twisted relationship with facts. There is some generational wealth transfer and there always will be, but the VAST majority of wealth in this country is created in one generation.

What about Bill Gates? Warren Buffet? and literally hundreds of thousands of others - roughly 10% of the people in the country have a net worth greater than $1 million.

What twisted relationship with facts?

The Bush's are practically a dynasty in this country. They are obscenely wealthy and have had a vice on politics for quite some time. The same can be said for other families like the Kennedys and the Rockefellers.

 

[Jeremy]

Has anyone concidered the drop in work ethic, education levels and increase in laziness of today generation(s) compared to the past? Maybe it's not so much the evil rich "stealing" more wealth, but the increase in the population base that is too ******* stupid and lazy to get away from the bong and xbox to become an entrepreneur. Just my opinion.

 

[thereisnospoon]

In 1976, the average worker could buy a house, send their kids to college, have full health insurance...all on one salary

Since then, the wealthiest 1% has convinced them that times are bad, they need to work harder, accept lower benefits at less pay..... all while pocketing more and more of available wealth

Sorry Leftwinger, Wealth is not a "Zero sum" game.....

As the saying goes about the Golden Rule- "He who has the gold...makes the rules"

Has the wealth of the richest 1% increased from 9% to 24% because they have increased the standing of American industry in the world market? Have they lead a rising economic tide? Have they generated 3 times the wealth that was available in 1976?

Since 1976, the percentage of wealth controlled by the US in the world market has declined sharply. The American worker has seen his standard of living decline in this period, while the wealthiest 1% has almost tripled their wealth

The golden rule still applies......the richest 1% has gotten the rules changed so they pay less in taxes, have less stringent labor rules and is able to claim a larger slice of the pie

Now, for the last time..There is no pie...Wealth is created. It does not exist in a vacuum.
There is no "because one has more ,therefore another MUST have less"...It doesn't work that way.
On planet liberal, when a person accumulates more wealth, he "took" a bigger piece or "more than his fair share"....
The wealthiest 10% of the population pays 40% of the federal tax burden.
The top 33% pay nearly 70%....Conversely the bottom 50% pay NO FEDERAL TAX...
So tell me oh whiz of math, how is it the wealthy pay less in taxes?
Would you rather see the top marginal rate go back to 70%? Why not make it 90%....
What is it you libs love so much about high taxes?...Suppose it was you who suddenly had to cough up over half of your income to the government and then watch politicians throw it down a rat hole?

 

[rightwinger]

Has anyone concidered the drop in work ethic, education levels and increase in laziness of today generation(s) compared to the past? Maybe it's not so much the evil rich "stealing" more wealth, but the increase in the population base that is too ******* stupid and lazy to get away from the bong and xbox to become an entrepreneur. Just my opinion.

US Workers are the most productive in the world. They work more hours and produce more product.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/04/business/worldbusiness/04output.html

The difference in rankings can be explained by the fact that annual working hours per person employed are considerably higher in the United States than in the majority of European economies,” the report said.

It is only the conservatives who call them lazy and stupid

 

[shintao]

And the reason we want to drop the tax rate on the richest 1% ????

American workers have higher productivity and work more hours than any worker in the world....and have less to show for it

Yet, that is the way they want it to be, so really no sense laboring that point. Crazy, yeah, but I suspect they would rather work than be with their families, have less grandchildren, and die at a younger age. Rightys tend to be suicidal by nature.

Unbelievable.

Yep, sure is, but those are the facts.

 

[rightwinger]

Sorry Leftwinger, Wealth is not a "Zero sum" game.....

As the saying goes about the Golden Rule- "He who has the gold...makes the rules"

Has the wealth of the richest 1% increased from 9% to 24% because they have increased the standing of American industry in the world market? Have they lead a rising economic tide? Have they generated 3 times the wealth that was available in 1976?

Since 1976, the percentage of wealth controlled by the US in the world market has declined sharply. The American worker has seen his standard of living decline in this period, while the wealthiest 1% has almost tripled their wealth

The golden rule still applies......the richest 1% has gotten the rules changed so they pay less in taxes, have less stringent labor rules and is able to claim a larger slice of the pie

Now, for the last time..There is no pie...Wealth is created. It does not exist in a vacuum.
There is no "because one has more ,therefore another MUST have less"...It doesn't work that way.
On planet liberal, when a person accumulates more wealth, he "took" a bigger piece or "more than his fair share"....
The wealthiest 10% of the population pays 40% of the federal tax burden.
The top 33% pay nearly 70%....Conversely the bottom 50% pay NO FEDERAL TAX...
So tell me oh whiz of math, how is it the wealthy pay less in taxes?
Would you rather see the top marginal rate go back to 70%? Why not make it 90%....
What is it you libs love so much about high taxes?...Suppose it was you who suddenly had to cough up over half of your income to the government and then watch politicians throw it down a rat hole?

Very good point and it highlights the fact that the richest 1% have done nothing to make the pie bigger. US percentage of wealth has decreased since 1976. They have just made sure that they get a larger slice of the available pie.

The top 33% pay 70% of the tax because they are taking 70% of the wealth. Its not that hard to figure out. As they take more and more of the wealth, they pay more and more of the tax

The bottom 50% pay no income tax because they have minimal income. Their income has to go for rent, electric, doctors bills, food, fuel, transportation....not much left over to tax

I'm not proposing the tax rate going back to 70%. But how the hell can we justify giving them a tax cut so they pay the same 36% rate as those making $250,000? Lumping the super wealthy 1% with those making $250K only allows them to avoid taxation.

 

[rightwinger]

JFK once said "A rising economic tide lifts all boats"

Since 1963, the wealthiest Americans have made sure that rising tide only lifts the yachts

 

[Jeremy]

Has anyone concidered the drop in work ethic, education levels and increase in laziness of today generation(s) compared to the past? Maybe it's not so much the evil rich "stealing" more wealth, but the increase in the population base that is too ******* stupid and lazy to get away from the bong and xbox to become an entrepreneur. Just my opinion.

US Workers are the most productive in the world. They work more hours and produce more product.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/04/business/worldbusiness/04output.html

It is only the conservatives who call them lazy and stupid

That's fine.... I still weep for the future.

 

[rdean]

Right wingers think those "rich people" earned every penny.

They don't take into account that those rich right wingers paid politicians to change laws and regulations so they could get that money. Just look at Wall Street to see that.

And very few of those rich people even go into the military to defend the country were they were able to get so wealthy. And Republicans defend that too.

It's like Republicans are mesmerized by these people. The rich are somehow "more and better than human".

Of course, what do you expect? The right wing base are lemmings. All they know is, "There's a "black" guy in the "WHITE" House", and that's enough. That's all they need to know.

 

[rightwinger]

Has anyone concidered the drop in work ethic, education levels and increase in laziness of today generation(s) compared to the past? Maybe it's not so much the evil rich "stealing" more wealth, but the increase in the population base that is too ******* stupid and lazy to get away from the bong and xbox to become an entrepreneur. Just my opinion.

US Workers are the most productive in the world. They work more hours and produce more product.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/04/business/worldbusiness/04output.html

It is only the conservatives who call them lazy and stupid

That's fine.... I still weep for the future.

I agree

Americans have to have both spouses working, get less time to spend with their families, have a harder time buying a home or paying for their childrens education.
Unlike the rest of the world, if an American gets sick he can lose his home or life savings

And you call them lazy and stupid

 

[Jeremy]

US Workers are the most productive in the world. They work more hours and produce more product.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/04/business/worldbusiness/04output.html

It is only the conservatives who call them lazy and stupid

That's fine.... I still weep for the future.

I agree

Americans have to have both spouses working, get less time to spend with their families, have a harder time buying a home or paying for their childrens education.
Unlike the rest of the world, if an American gets sick he can lose his home or life savings

And you call them lazy and stupid

Wow. You suck at this.