The Pew Center just came out with a report on America's "Lost Decade." The set of graphs below pretty much sums up what's happened to the incomes and wealth of America since 2008. It's not pretty.
Among other findings include most Americans seeing this growing divide as bad for America and - get this - with the majority of Americans believing that the wealthy are paying too little in taxes. Even those who describe themselves as upper middle class (52%) don't believe the rich pay enough in taxes.
The upper tier of America's wage earners are the only group who believe they are more financially secure than they were 10 years ago. And why not? They are the one group who has actually been improving on their income status over the past 40 years.
There's more information than I can synopsize here. But one thing is clear. This trend has been going on for some time ...
... and it's not the result of the upper tier of America being harder workers or more deserving than you and me. The wealth transfer policy was deliberate and well thought out.
It was carried out by a government captured by the interests of the financial elite, and approved by a party of market sycophants who don't understand how modern markets really work.
The Pew survey simply reports the results.
- Mark
1 comment:
Have you seen the movie Invictus? The trailer alone shows a similarity to the picture you posted at the top of this blog post. Poor kids playing soccer on the dirt with very little clothing. Across the street you have a professional team playing on grass and in uniforms.
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