Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

appalachiablue

(41,052 posts)
Mon Dec 9, 2019, 05:26 PM Dec 2019

New Data: Top 1% Income Has Grown 100 X Faster Than Bottom 50%, Since 1970

'Staggering' New Data Shows Income of Top 1% Has Grown 100 Times Faster Than Bottom 50% Since 1970. "The bulk of a generation of economic growth has been captured and concentrated in a few hands, and many people have barely seen any of it." Common Dreams, Dec. 9, 2019.

New data released Monday explains the numbers behind Sen. Bernie Sanders' often-cited statistic that the three richest Americans hold more wealth than the 160 million people who make up the bottom 50% of the population.

Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent published what he called "stunning" findings from Stanford University economist Gabriel Zucman, showing how both an explosion in annual earnings by the rich and an increasingly regressive tax structure have combined to allow the top 1% of Americans' wealth to triple over the past five decades.

Meanwhile, working people are taking home just $8,000 more per year than they did in 1970. In what Sargent called "the triumph of the rich, which is one of the defining stories of our time," the richer a household is, the more its take-home wealth has grown in the past 50 years.

New data:

For top 1%, average income has risen by $800,000 since 1970.

For top 0.1%, it has risen by $4 million.

For top .01%, it has risen $20 million.

Bottom 50%? $8,000.

All this is *after taxes and transfers.*

The top 1% of earners make an average of more than $1 million per year after accounting for taxes they pay, a 50-year increase of more than $800,000—100 times the growth rate of the bottom 50%. The wealth of the top .1% is five times larger than it was in 1970, while that of the top .01% is seven times larger, at over $24 million in 2018.

Zucman and fellow economist Emmanuel Saez, his co-author of the new book "The Triumph of Injustice," provided a chart showing how each group of earners' take-home pay has changed since 1970. The wealthiest Americans' assets skyrocketed by millions of dollars even in the first decade of the 21st century—when people in the bottom 50% saw their average take-home income decrease...

More, https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/09/staggering-new-data-shows-income-top-1-has-grown-100-times-faster-bottom-50-1970


7 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
New Data: Top 1% Income Has Grown 100 X Faster Than Bottom 50%, Since 1970 (Original Post) appalachiablue Dec 2019 OP
Their chart belies their headline. It actually took off after 1980. PSPS Dec 2019 #1
That 1st column in the chart for the Bottom 50% is shocking.. appalachiablue Dec 2019 #2
Be ready for these conservative rebuttals Cicada Dec 2019 #3
Thanks for posting these tips, as low as it goes. Zucman is not well liked appalachiablue Dec 2019 #4
Zucman is incredibly important Cicada Dec 2019 #5
In the last few months I've seen his name associated with Saez, appalachiablue Dec 2019 #6
Message auto-removed Name removed Dec 2019 #7

PSPS

(13,512 posts)
1. Their chart belies their headline. It actually took off after 1980.
Mon Dec 9, 2019, 05:49 PM
Dec 2019

Gee, let's see. What event happened around 1980 that could have caused this. Hmmm. Such a mystery. Maybe it's related to these other things that happened "mysteriously" around 1980.

- Two incomes required to even consider the possibility of comfortably supporting a household
- Income tax on the wealthy cut by 2/3
- Homeless population explodes
- US goes from largest creditor nation to largest debtor nation

Such a "mystery" how all of these came to pass "around 1980." Such a puzzle. Will we ever figure it out? Was it gawd? Should I be a-scared?

appalachiablue

(41,052 posts)
2. That 1st column in the chart for the Bottom 50% is shocking..
Mon Dec 9, 2019, 05:56 PM
Dec 2019

In 1980 I was in DC when that event happened, a shocker that's definitely lasted..

Cicada

(4,533 posts)
3. Be ready for these conservative rebuttals
Mon Dec 9, 2019, 08:04 PM
Dec 2019

1. Pay is more than take home pay. When an employer must pay $12000 more for an employee’s health insurance, that $12000 pay increase is not shown in take home pay.

2. Income also includes government benefits such as food stamps, earned income tax credit, section 8 rent subsidies. The amount has gone up some over time.

3. Zucman uses a non standard way to measure high income which some economists disagree with.

But the big picture is still clear. Elizabeth Warren, and Donald Trump, were right when they said the system is rigged. But Warren, unlike Trump, has proposals to fix it.

Cicada

(4,533 posts)
5. Zucman is incredibly important
Mon Dec 9, 2019, 10:18 PM
Dec 2019

His early work, hidden wealth of nations, was enough by itself to make him a hero. But that was just the beginning. His work is going to significantly change the world for the better.

appalachiablue

(41,052 posts)
6. In the last few months I've seen his name associated with Saez,
Mon Dec 9, 2019, 10:54 PM
Dec 2019

Warren and Piketty. I didn't know he was French and TP's student until I looked up his info. Bright with a long career ahead to do good things.

Trailer for the new film, 'Capital in the 20th Century,' posted here in Video or Movies.

Response to appalachiablue (Original post)

Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Editorials & Other Articles»New Data: Top 1% Income H...