Thursday , 21 November 2024

New Report Confirms that "Occupy Wall Street" Has a Point Regarding Income Inequality in America

Of all the many banners being waved around the world by disgruntled protesters from Chile to Australia the one that reads, “We Are the 99%” is the catchiest. It is purposefully vague, but it is also underpinned by some solid economics. A report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)… confirms the contentions of the 99% that a system that works well for the very richest has delivered returns on labour that are disappointing for everyone else and that the people at the top have made out like bandits over the past few decades, and that now everyone else must pick up the bill. [Take a look at the graph which shows just how unequal income distribution is in the USA.] Words: 776

So reports The Economist online (www.economist.com) in edited excerpts from an article* which Lorimer Wilson, editor of www.munKNEE.com (Your Key to Making Money!), has further edited ([ ]), abridged (…) and reformatted below for the sake of clarity and brevity to ensure a fast and easy read. The author’s views and conclusions are unaltered and no personal comments have been included to maintain the integrity of the original article. Please note that this paragraph must be included in any article re-posting to avoid copyright infringement.

Who in the world is currently reading this article along with you? Click here

The article goes on to say, in part:

A report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) points out that income inequality in America has not risen dramatically over the past 20 years—when the top 1% of earners are excluded. With them, the picture is quite different. The causes of the good fortune of those at the top are disputed, but the CBO provides some useful detail on that too. The biggest component of the increase in after-tax income for the top one percent is “business income” as opposed to income from labour or investments (though admittedly these things are hard to untangle). Whatever the cause, the data [see the graph below] are powerful because they tend to support two prejudices.

  1. That a system that works well for the very richest has delivered returns on labour that are disappointing for everyone else.
  2. That the people at the top have made out like bandits over the past few decades, and that now everyone else must pick up the bill.

Of course it is a little more complicated than that but this downturn ought to test the normally warm feelings in America of the 99% towards the 1%.


*http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/10/income-inequality-america

Related Articles:

1. How the Wealth of Canadians, Americans, Brits and Aussies Compare

retire

Countries differ greatly in the levels and pattern of wealth holdings…In this article…we highlight those of Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. [Take a look at the results of our extensive research.] Words: 1314

2. Americans! Where’s the Outrage Regarding Your Financial Situation?

Most Americans don’t understand what is happening because neither the mainstream media nor our politicians are telling them the truth. We are being told that we just need to accept our lower standard of living and most Americans seem willing to accept that reality because they keep sending most of the exact same bozos back to Washington D.C….Why are the majority of Americans not screaming to their political “representatives” that they are as mad as hell and not willing to take it any more? Words: 1270

3. America: The 42nd Most Unequal Country in the World

Richest 1% of Americans Own 33.8% of Country’s Private Wealth and 23.5% of Its Income!

[Remember the song by The Barenaked Ladies called “If I Had a Million Dollars“? Well, if you were one of the many ultra-wealthy around the world who were worth billions (see list) and earns billions of dollars each year, year after year, where could you possibly spend such riches? Well, frankly, even being very extravagant, it actually is surprisingly difficult to spend that much money – and there’s the rub. While this article, on one hand, outlines where  and how a billionaire could make a small dent in his fortune (the uplifting part) it outlines, on the other hand, just how concentrated wealth is in the U.S. these days and the adverse effect such a concentration is having on our society.] Words: 2156

4. Are America’s Wealthy Unpatriotic? 

The Rich are NOT Paying Their Fair Share of Income Tax

Over the last half century, the richest Americans have shifted the burden of the federal individual income tax off themselves and onto everybody else – dramatically!  At a time of national economic crisis, especially, they can and should contribute far more in taxes. [Let me show you the extent of this massive redistribution of wealth so you decide for yourself if this is, indeed, the case.] Words: 1140