It's the Wealth Gap, Stupid [View all]
I know I'm preaching to the choir in this group, but nice to see relatively mainstream sources starting to talk about this:
It's the Wealth Gap, Stupid
Why the truly alarming economic trend is not income inequality.
—By Reid Cramer
Mon Feb. 13, 2012 3:00 AM PST
When Mitt Romney bowed to political pressure and released his 2010 tax return, it showed, to no one's great surprise, that the Romneys are rich. Really, really rich. They reported income of more than $21 million, itemized deductions of over $4.5 million, and a total tax bill of just over $3 million. They made charitable contributions of almost $3 million, although more than half of that went to their church.
But what really stood out in the tax return—beyond the presidential candidate's 13.9 percent tax rate—is not that Mitt makes a lot of money, it's that he has a lot of money. Romney's finances are illustrative of the growing gulf between haves and have-nots. It's not about income equality; it's about the widening wealth gap.
In recent years, the fortunes of the Romneys and others in their cohort have continued to grow, notably diverging from the majority of Americans still struggling to deal with a slow economic recovery...
... Recent estimates indicate that the while the top 1 percent earn 21 percent of the nation's income, they possess 36 percent of total wealth. This is especially troubling because while income dictates how well you're doing today, it is access to wealth (the stock of resources) that creates opportunities down the line...
more here: http://motherjones.com/politics/2012/02/its-wealth-gap-stupid
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