Income gap widest ever: 95 Percent of Recovery Income Gains Have Gone to the Top 1 Percent

[cali]

Important inequality update from Emmanuel Saez:

Top 1% incomes grew by 31.4% while bottom 99% incomes grew only by 0.4% from 2009 to 2012. Hence, the top 1% captured 95% of the income gains in the first three years of the recovery. From 2009 to 2010, top 1% grew fast and then stagnated from 2010 to 2011. Bottom 99% stagnated both from 2009 to 2010 and from 2010 to 2011. In 2012, top 1% incomes increased sharply by 19.6% while bottom 99% incomes grew only by 1.0%. In sum, top 1% incomes are close to full recovery while bottom 99% incomes have hardly started to recover.

The same set of data shows that the recession years were egalitarian in the sense that the top 1 percent's income share fell, but the incomes of the 99 percent also fell—just not as fast as the incomes of the richest—so the catastrophic recession approach to reducing inequality doesn't look so good.

<snip>

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/09/10/one_percent_recovery_95_percent_of_gains_have_gone_to_the_top_one_percent.html

The 1% and the rest: U.S. income gap is widest ever

The pay gap between the top 1 percent of U.S. earners and the rest of America widened to a record last year.

The top 1 percent collected 19.3 percent of household income in 2012, their largest share in Internal Revenue Service figures going back a century.

U.S. income inequality has been growing for almost three decades. But until last year, the top 1 percent’s share of pre-tax income had not yet surpassed the 18.7 percent it reached in 1927, according to an analysis of IRS figures dating to 1913 by economists at the University of California, Berkeley, the Paris School of Economics and Oxford University.

One economist, Emmanuel Saez of the University of California, Berkeley, said the incomes of the highest-income Americans might have surged last year in part because they cashed in stock holdings to avoid higher capital gains taxes that took effect in January.

<snip>

http://www.omaha.com/article/20130911/MONEY/130919800/1697

[SamKnause]

1. Inequality

They are the best of the best.

They are the brightest.

They are hand picked by the best and brightest.

They deserve to own the wealth of this country.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The 99% are just jealous.

They don't know how to manage their finances.

They don't work hard enough.

They don't work enough hours, or days.

They get sick.

They take vacations.

They didn't receive family inheritances.

They don't own any politicians.

SARCASM OFF

[KansDem]

3. That about sums it up!

[Snake Plissken]

2. It's a good thing we have Syria to distract us from the real problems we are dealing with

Because, it looks as if there is no end in sight for the war on the Middle Class

The GOP can lose all of their seats in the house and senate and they would still be running this country

[grahamhgreen]

9. Right. Why don't we attack this problem first?

[jsr]

4. Minor problem, when Syria threatens our existence.

[barbtries]

5. it cannot go on.

i don't know how it ends, but not feeling optimistic.

[sorefeet]

6. Be patient it wil

TRIKLE DOWN

[WillyT]

7. K & R !!!

[cali]

8. thanks, Willy and good morning

I always appreciate your enthusiastic k&rs.

[bvar22]

10. As far as I'm concerned,

this IS the most serious problem facing the United States.

Older Workers:.Set Back by Recession, and Shut Out of Rebound
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/27/booming/for-laid-off-older-workers-age-bias-is-pervasive.html?smid=tw-share&_r=3&

40% Of Americans Now Make Less Than 1968 Minimum Wage
http://seeingtheforest.com/40-of-americans-now-make-less-than-1968-minimum-wage/
50% of Working Americans NOW make less than $27,000/Yr.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023308914

Right now, forty percent of Americans make less than the minimum wage from 1968.
http://pac.petitions.moveon.org/sign/raise-the-minimum-wage-19/?source=search


Daily CEO Pay Now Exceeds the Average Worker's Annual Salary –
http://thecontributor.com/daily-ceo-pay-now-exceeds-us-workers-annual-salary




76% of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck
http://money.cnn.com/2013/06/24/pf/emergency-savings/index.html


New Rule (Passed by Congress and signed by President Obama) signals Kiss of Death for Pensions
http://www.cnbc.com/id/100694955


Corporate Profits Have Grown By 171 Percent Under Obama -- Highest Rate Since 1900
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/corporate-profits-have-grown-171-percent-under-obama-highest-rate-1900

Wealthy win lion's share of major tax breaks
http://www.boston.com/business/news/2013/05/29/wealthy-win-lion-share-major-tax-breaks/Ua0UyYle21EUXub7g1suCI/story.html

Half of America is in poverty, and its creeping toward 75%
http://www.alternet.org/economy/real-numbers-half-america-poverty-and-its-creeping-toward-75-0

Wealth gap widens as labor's share of income falls
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/wealth-gap-widens-labors-share-income-falls-1B6097385

As the Economy Recovers, the Wealth Gap Widens
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/rick-newman/2013/03/11/as-the-economy-recovers-the-wealth-gap-widens

Top One Percent Captured 121 Percent Of All Income Gains
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/12/top-one-percent-income-gains_n_2670455.html

Corporate Profits Hit Record High While Worker Wages Hit Record Low
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/12/03/1270541/corporate-profits-wages-record/?mobile=nc

THIS ^ does NOT happen by accident.
It is the result of carefully planned and implemented Economic Policy.
It requires careful preparation, marketing, buying the right politicians, message control, courts packed with Conservative Corporate Rights Judges, and the marginalization and suppression of any opposition.




You will know them by their [font size=3]WORKS.[/font]

[cali]

12. I am in complete agreement with you.

[dionysus]

11. yee haw.

[The Link]

13. What is everyone complaining about? You want a box of chocolates with all vanilla cremes?

[trotsky]

14. Mission accomplished! n/t

[ljm2002]

15. This should be on the front page...

...of every newspaper. It should be the first story on the nightly news.

I know, I know: dream on.

Thanks for the post. This is THE story of the decade and the MSM and PTB are just glossing it all over hoping the rest of us won't notice.

Here's a clue, guys: we're noticing.

[blackspade]

16. Who would have thunk it?

So much for the recovery.

[Hydra]

17. All according to plan

It wasn't a depression, it was a looting.

[blackspade]

18. You know it!