1% Of Americans Own Half Of Our Nation's Wealth What Does That Mean?

[DanieRains]

Thoughts?

[Kaleva]

1. That it's pretty much on par with historical standards?

[TheFarseer]

9. The wealth gap is growing

I keep finding conflicting stats on by how much but all sources agree it is growing. According to the New York Times, when including debt, the richest 1% has 90% of the wealth. This used to be not so lopsided. The bottom half are increasingly sinking into negative wealth. It’s fine that some people are rich, but there used to be some left for the rest of us. That’s the issue.

[Kaleva]

23. It appears to be about the same today then it was in England and the Netherlands back in the 1700s

Historically speaking, what we see today may be the norm. When a nation is rich and powerful, the income inequality may be greater.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/07/01/income-inequality-today-may-be-the-highest-since-the-nations-founding/

[TheFarseer]

28. And not many would want to go back to that

You’re talking about a time when there were kings and lords, no real Democracy and children working in coal mines for a hay penny a day. Labor had worked so hard to get to where we were in the 1950s-1980s (this era is the typical starting point to measure change in Income inequality)and I hate to see it all melt away and go back to robber barrons and peasants.

[Kaleva]

29. But i think we both agree that the period between 1950-1980 may be an anomaly...

in the history of human civilization. The rest of the world was broke and devastated from WWII and in the US, there was plenty of good paying jobs and the US had a very high tax rate to pay for WWII. Conditions that may be very hard to replicate.

[Skittles]

2. it means

that all the raises we should have received over the past four decades went straight to the top

[guillaumeb]

3. It means the GOP should push another tax cut for the rich.

What else could it mean?

[beachbumbob]

4. It means the class warfare has been won

[Beakybird]

5. It means tariffs on pots to pay for their yachts.

[BootinUp]

6. sayonara democracy?

[ritapria]

7. Result : 60% of Americns living paycheck to paycheck

Reaganism followed by positive Incrementalism; followed by more Reaganism; isn't going to get the job done ……..We need structural change brought about by a massive grass roots movement that demands it ….If not, 20 years from now , 80% of the American people will be living paycheck to paycheck …….

[Quackers]

27. Forbes is now saying 78%

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2019/01/11/live-paycheck-to-paycheck-government-shutdown/#26ba94584f10

[dhill926]

8. eat the rich...

[Blue_true]

17. Yes, most will be nice and soft.

Actually, I am kidding. What people will do is simply kill them and take their money and possessions if things get much worse. The greatest defense that the rich can put up for themselves is sharing some of their wealth with the rest of society. The rich simply can't build a secure gilded bunker, despite what some have convinced themselves of, there will always be ways to get to them, and let's say they somehow survive in their gilded bunkers, what type of world will they come out to?

[Disaffected]

10. It means,

what you thought was trickling down wasn't money.

[California_Republic]

12. Ha ! Good one !

[Hortensis]

11. It means far too many failed to vote responsibly for too long.

Not the first time. But those who came before fixed it when it finally genuinely hurt the voting middle classes, and here we are again.

It's sad that so many eagerly jumped on the "get off the backs of business" lies and enthusiastically approved dismantling the controls their grandparents instituted. But imo, far sadder were all those so spoiled and feckless that they just sat around on their fingers while it happened. A little hurt is good for those.

[Blue_true]

19. A good percentage of Americans will borrow money this year to buy Christmas presents.

When I say borrow, I mean the payday loan type of borrowing. What that means is those that have credit cards have maxed them out.

30% of the people who borrowed short-term money to buy Christmas presents last year have not fully paid the money back as of October of this year.

Things are reaching a breaking point.

[Hortensis]

25. Yes. One of my 13-year-old grandsons thinks socialism

should replace capitalism. Just kid's ignorance, of course, but growing interest in extremist fixes is another sign. I've been waiting for people to get fed up for 30 years of increasing idiocy.

Speaking of, in a couple months'll be the third of the annual massive PAYGO payments for the Republicans' special $1.7 trillion wealth transfer to the 0.1%. Legal bank robbery.
Unbelievable.

[GeorgeGist]

13. It means our economic system ...

Is out of whack.

[Blue_true]

20. Yes. nt

[handmade34]

14. it means

wealth is created off the backs of the less wealthy?

[I_UndergroundPanther]

16. Yes

Rich people are parasites.

[Blue_true]

21. Not all of them are, but too many are. nt

[spinbaby]

15. How much wealth is that?

How much wealth does it take to be in that 1%? Anyone know?

[Yavin4]

18. At min., you need to have a net worth of $10 million.

https://dqydj.com/top-one-percent-united-states/

[spinbaby]

30. That leaves me out

More than I’ll ever have. Although 10 million is tiny fraction of what Bezos has.

[Yavin4]

31. Bezos is in the top 1% of the top 1% n/t

[A HERETIC I AM]

22. The Walton family, heirs to the founders of WalMart, are now collectively worth

somewhere north of $190 BILLION.

That is more wealth than the bottom 40% of American households combined, or the bottom 131 million people in the US.


That puts them in the top 1/10th of 1%, just as a comparison, but again, that is all of the family members combined.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

24. It means few Americans are able to accrue assets as the fruit of our labor.

Aside from regular income inequality, the wealthy are bleeding our lower classes of every spare penny during our working years so that saving is difficult or impossible while access to debt is quite free.

Other than providing basic subsistence items and a few superficial playthings, we're trending toward renting everything and their ultimate goal is for all the working class to die penniless.

KY............

[melm00se]

26. Top 1%

I am going to shift this a bit.

If you are someone who makes $32,500/year (just a shade over the US median individual income), you are in the top 1% (globally) of wage earners. That would make you the focus of a worldwide anti-1% movement.

My point is that the value (or not) of the 1% is subjective.

http://www.globalrichlist.com/