How One Percent Grabbed So Much of Our Wealth

[marmar]

from OnTheCommons.org:



How One Percent Grabbed So Much of Our Wealth
The economic benefits of knowledge-- which belong to us all-- flow to the rich

By Gar Alperovitz


Elizabeth Warren points out that there “is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody.” Meaning: if the rich don’t pay their fair share of the taxes that educate their workers and provide roads, security and many other things, they are essentially stealing from everyone else.

The biggest “theft” by the 1 percent has been of the primary source of wealth—knowledge—for its own benefit.

Knowledge? Yes, of course, and increasingly so. The fact is, most of what we call wealth is now known to be overwhelmingly the product of technical, scientific and other knowledge—and most of this innovation derives from socially inherited knowledge. Which means that, except for trivial amounts, it was simply not created by the 1 percent who enjoy the lion’s share of its benefits. Most of it was created, historically, by society—which is to say, the other 99 percent.

Take an obvious example: Many of the advances that have propelled our high-tech economy in recent decades grew directly out of research programs financed and, often, collaboratively developed, by the federal government and paid for by the taxpayer. The Internet, to take the most well-known example, began as a government defense project, the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), in the 1960s. Today’s vast software industry rests on a foundation of computer language and operating hardware developed, in large part, with public support. The Bill Gateses of the world might still be working with vacuum tubes and punch cards were it not for critical research and technology programs created or financed by the federal government. .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://onthecommons.org/how-one-percent-grabbed-so-much-our-wealth

[leenick1]

1. Totally agree....

I agree with this whole heartedly,now i see on "The ED Show" that there are acually three democrats that are on board with the republicans in abolishing social security,and medicare. Well ain't they the cat's pajama's,i say vote thier a**es right out of office for betraying the party and the people that voted for them in the first place.These shameless individuals are trying to stay in office plain and simple.This is complete nonsense and has to be put to an end...the rich will continue to get rich and the rest of us will be poorer and poorer,this is like a bad movie only it is real and right here in the U.S.A. WAKE THE HELL UP EVERYONE!!!!! WE ARE BEING PUSHED OUT OF THE WAY FOR THE SAKE OF GREED!!!!

[Demeter]

2. They committed fraud, mostly

It's not that difficult. The difficult part was arranging to avoid prosecution, clawbacks, re-regulation, and taxes. That's why they needed to steal so much--to pay off their wholly-owned Congressional and White House Subsidiaries.