USA Doesn't Realize How Badly It's Getting Screwed by the Top 0.1% Hoarding the Country's Wealth

[Octafish]

Tomorrow Is Never by Kay Sage



Americans Don't Realize Just How Badly We're Getting Screwed by the Top 0.1 Percent Hoarding the Country's Wealth

With an unprecedented sum of wealth held within the top one-tenth of one percent of the US population, we now have the most severe inequality of wealth in US history.

By David DeGraw
Amped Status/Alternet.org
August 14, 2011

With an unprecedented sum of wealth, tens of trillions of dollars, held within the top one-tenth of one percent of the US population, we now have the most severe inequality of wealth in US history. Not even the robber barons of the Gilded Age were as greedy as the modern-day economic elite.

SNIP...

The overwhelming majority of the US population is unaware of the vast wealth at hand. An entire generation of unprecedented wealth creation has been concealed from 99 percent of the population for over 35 years. Having never personally experienced this wealth, the average American cannot comprehend what is possible if even a fraction of the money was used for the betterment of society.

Given modern technology and wealth, American citizens should not be living in poverty. The statistics demonstrate that we now live in a neo-feudal society. In comparison to the wealthiest one-tenth of one percent of the population, who are sitting on top of tens of trillions of dollars in wealth, we are essentially propagandized peasants.

The fact that the overwhelming majority of Americans are struggling to get by, while tens of trillions of dollars are consolidated within a small fraction of the population, is a crime against humanity.

CONTINUED...

http://www.alternet.org/economy/152010/americans_don%27t_realize_just_how_badly_we%27re_getting_screwed_by_the_top_0.1_percent_hoarding_the_country%27s_wealth/

I've become a big fan of Mr. DeGraw. He's doing a public service, chronicling the rabid Reverse Robin Hood of the last 30 years and its impact in the present day. That used to be the journalist's job to point out and government's responsibility to correct.

[flamingdem]

1. I'd be grateful to shine their shoes for a crust of bread nt

[Octafish]

5. Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

I think you have summed it up, flamingdem. What Chantal Montellier depicted 35 years ago for what the future holds (translations below each page):



NEXT!
...IT'S COMING ALONG WELL...A VERY NICE SCAR...YOU CAN PUT YOUR CAP BACK ON...

I SEE YOU SIGNED ALL THE DOCUMENTS YOU WERE GIVEN...NO REGRETS?
N...NO...SSS...SI...SIR...NO REGRETS...

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE GOVERNMENT?
I...I...APPROVE...OF IT...
COMPLETELY?
YES...COM...COMPLETELY...
GOOD! NO FIGHTS WITH THE OTHER INMATES OR GUARDS?

OH!...NO S...S...SIR...NO...NO...FIGHTS!



GOOD!...DO YOU STILL FEEL WE WERE WRONG TO MAKE YOU SUBMIT TO THIS OPERATION?
OH!...N...NO...S...S...SIR...I DON'T THINK THAT NO MO...MORE...

GOOD...YOU'RE FINE!...HOLD ON TO YOUR RELEASE SLIP...YOU ARE NOW READY TO FIND YOUR PLACE IN SOCIETY...

NEXT!

WWARE UY GOWIN? LEEVIN?
YES...I I HAVE...MY...SLIP!...

LEE MEEYULONE! YU GOD NO RIDE!
AWRIDE! SHADAB!



(SIGN -) CENTRE FOR IDEOLOGICAL REEDUCATION - MINISTRY OF HEALTH
...MY...MY PLACE...IN SOCIETY...
MY PLACE...

Details on the artist: http://www.montellier.org /

The SF series was republished in the USA in "Heavy Metal" magazine. The artist's idea, I believe, was to warn us. Instead, it's become another guidebook for the fascists.

[flamingdem]

13. Wow, that's an high philosophy for a comic book! nt

[Octafish]

21. 1996 -- FWIU the idea was the post-war irradiated populace'd be manipulated by surviving uberclass.

Prophetic, even down to the irradiated sp-sp-speech patterns:



THREE MINUTES PAUSE-ATTENTION: KEEP YOUR MASK ON-THREE MINUTES PAUSE... ATTENTION...

SHEEYIT!

THADZ ID!



AARRGG!

I'M BOININ!

WUDZ AMADA? WUDZ GOBINDA IM?
DUNNO...
GOP SIGDA IZ OWDFID...
AINDA FIRZ...
AN ID WOWNBEYA LAZZ... WUDA MEZZ! YUCK! HEREZA BOZ!

WUZ HA BENIN? WUDA FUG?
...GUY TOOGOFIZ MAZG! WONUVA TEEM...
OH. SOWUDUYA UGGIN AD? GOWAN! GED BAGA WORG STEDA STAIRINAD THIZ AZHOL!



KMIN KONTROL. TEEM 101 CHEEF HEER... GOTM NEGZIBIJINISD INEER. GUY TOOGOV IZ MASG... IYL GED WIDOV IM... RIDE... THANGZ!

GODA NOBENIN ZLOD 5 TEEM 101...

[trueblue2007]

49. WARREN BUFFETT SAYS....... MAKE ME PAY HIGHER TAXES!!!!!

"My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It's time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice," he said.

Buffett calling for a higher tax burden for the wealthy is nothing new; last November, in a lengthy sit-down interview with ABC News, he insisted that the wealthy "have it better than we've ever had it" and that they had an obligation to pay substantially more tax.

<SNIP>

Buffett is not alone in agitating for change.

Starbucks Corp Chief Executive Howard Schultz is brewing up support for his call to withhold political contributions to U.S. lawmakers until they strike a "fair, bipartisan" deal on the country's debt, revenue and spending.

<SNIP>

Buffett, chairman of the conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, said his federal tax bill last year was $6,938,744, the equivalent of 64 shares of Berkshire Class A stock.

"That sounds like a lot of money. But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income -- and that's actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent," he said.



http://news.yahoo.com/stop-coddling-super-rich-buffett-084140678.html

[KG]

34. you wouldn't believe how often i hear that attitude from working class people.

or maybe you would...

[Enthusiast]

42. Apparently that is in the plans.........nt

[Sarah Ibarruri]

2. They're scumbuckets. They've raped the country, stolen from it, and are now starving it nt

[Octafish]

6. How to break and control an animal.

And they treat anyone "under them" like animals.

Know your BFEE: American Children Used in Radiation Experiments

[Sarah Ibarruri]

9. Want to know what upsets me more than what sob's the mega-rich are? The poor that defend them. nt

[alp227]

58. that's what happens with a culture that glamorizes the rich

Donald Trump got popular for his reality show The Apprentice. And some of the most popular cable TV shows are reality shows about rich Hollywood stars like Kim Kardashian and who-else-I-can't-name as well as the Republican billionaire propaganda on Fox News and maybe CNN. And MTV with that Super Sweet 16 show if it's still in production. And right-wing talk radio banging the Grover Norquist/"no new taxes" drum so much you've got average folks who get their politics from Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity shows echoing the "taxes kill jobs" BS. The ignorance that the media is enabling is sickening. Thanks for getting me venting on a thought here.

[RuthK]

67. Where is the wealth?

Go to:

http://www.extremeinequality.org/

Select "Data & Statistics" and "Wealth Inequality". Page down to the pie charts.

In 2009, the percentage of people and wealth was:
1% - 35.6%
4% - 27.9%
15% - 23.7%
80% - 12.8%

Stock market ownership was worse.
1% - 38.2%
9% - 43.0%
10% - 9.9%
20% - 6.4%
60% - 2.5%

So why is there all this hoopla when the market goes up and down? What does it have to do with me or you?

[Mr Deltoid]

3. It's our policy of borrowing money and handing it out to the rich

At what point does it stop?

[Octafish]

8. When the Durango 95 runs out of petrol.

Thanks for giving a damn! And a hearty welcome to DU, Mr Deltoid. Sorry I haven't been at class, lately. Pain in the gulliver...

[Mr Deltoid]

10. Well, thank you!

“There was a bit of nastiness last night, yes? Some very extreme nastiness, yes?”

[Initech]

19. As I like to call them "Reverse Robin Hoods".

[xxqqqzme]

36. I call them X-treme hoarders.

[me b zola]

38. Good idea for a television series

...could run on current. The interventions would be great :) and unlike the other sound alike shows, this one would be educational as well as entertaining

[Initech]

43. We should have them featured on the show. I'd gladly clean up their mess!

[blank space]

48. That would be "Hoods Robin Us" .

Makes sense

[defendandprotect]

26. It stops when we have a party that defends us -- and a president who is non-corporate -- !!!

[snappyturtle]

4. I think it's as simple as this:

The rich should be taxed but then that means the gov't gets the money and I don't like where they spend a lot of it now. How about the rich are mandated to put some of their wealth back into the economy via jobs, whatever, (they were creative enough to amass it they can put their little minds together and creatively give it back) OR tax them at a high rate?...and I don't mean 35% as high. imho

[Octafish]

31. At the same time the nation engages in wars without end it gives the rich tax breaks without end...

...Nice racket. And somebody's always making a killing:

This Is What Gets Defunded If The Treasury Has To Prioritize Payments.

Let's bring back the tax rate from the Great World War II days: 90-percent. The modern day rich can vastly more afford it than their predecessors.

[AnnaLee]

7. Maybe someone can help me find a piece of data.

Yesterday I started obsessing on the phrase/talking point - "America is still the richest country in the world." It struck me that I would like to know just who or what is meant by "America". This morning I decided to find out how much of American "wealth" would disappear if the "rich" and the big companies all decided to change citizenship or registration at the same time. (Example, the American owned skyscrapper is no longer American owned.) It turns out that I can find a record of both financial and tangible assets of ordinary Americans but I can only find data on the financial assets of the corporate/rich.

This guy seems to have had a similar question with a similar problem with this piece of the pie:
http://rutledgecapital.com/2009/05/24/total-assets-of-the-us-economy-188-trillion-134xgdp/

[begin_within]

12. All you have to do is add "for them, not us" to any of their claims, to get to the truth.

[Octafish]

32. This UCSC professor's page may be of help...

Wealth, Income, and Power

PS: A hearty welcome to DU, AnnaLee!

[amborin]

11. kr

[formernaderite]

14. I wish they'd go after JUST the top earners

I know too many little contractors who basically self=finance keeping their business afloat who earn in the 250,000 range. They will be hurt, same goes for farmers who often seem rich, but really aren't. I know a turkey farmer, who has to keep his staff on throughout the year for the big holidays, on paper he seems to have a lot of assets... but not in reality. Why not change the number to say 500,000 or a million and up?

[hfojvt]

60. I think you are looking at that wrong

the taxes are on net income, not gross income. If their net income is $250,000 then they are not really "little". Most people do not bring home nearly that kind of swag.

We really need to tax the people making over $75,000 because that's where most of the income is.

[ljm2002]

15. "we are essentially propagandized peasants."

That's it in a nutshell.

K&R

[Uncle Joe]

16. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Octafish.

[Initech]

17. Time to open Easy G's Discount Pitchforks & Torches Emporium!

[Marrah_G]

22. LOL

:thumbup:

[flamingdem]

56. lol - I like pitchfork threads nt

[madfloridian]

18. Recommended.

Reverse Robin Hood is right.

[TBF]

20. This OP should be required reading. K&R nt

[Better Believe It]

23. I agree. Recommend

[LongTomH]

24. Thanks for this post, Octafish!

When I read Alvin Toffler's Future Shock back in the early 70s, one of the points that I remember was Toffler's assertion that, the average American would see a doubling of wealth every 15 years from that time on out. I think there's been a doubling of wealth every 15 years, as Toffler said; but we've seen little of it.

Oh yes, excellent post as usual, Octafish, and a great graphic to go with it.

Edited to add: America's Division of Wealth in Nine Pictures - from a Journal post I made earlier this year.

[alfredo]

25. At least the Robber Barons were building railroads and

bridges. Today's predatory capitalist doesn't make a goddamn thing.

[LongTomH]

27. A very good point, Alfredo!

Sometime in the 70s, the ultra-rich switched from making 'stuff' to playing games with money. Kevin Phillips calls this 'financialization.'

[alfredo]

28. I call it treason. They know they are hurting America, but

they do it anyway.

[blindpig]

29. A hundred years of red baiting is not without effect. n/t

[Turbineguy]

30. I'm not sure those at the very top

are all that interested in screwing the rest of us. It seems to me it's more like the political class doing the screwing over. In the same way that middle managers screw over the workers, thinking that it's what top management wants.

[TBF]

35. You are very naive -

or simply don't know any very rich folks. Never doubt it is what they want, although they may pay the middle managers to do it for them.

[sabrina 1]

37. The political class are the middle managers, for the Wealthy

at the top. Who pays for their elections? Who picks the Candidates who when they win, make sure the legislation they pass benefits those who bought them?

And then some of them go on to join that class themselves, depending on how good a job they do for them.

Our Government is bought and paid for by the Wealthy.

[grahamhgreen]

40. Be sure.

[Blue Owl]

33. K&R

:kick:

[dogmoma56]

39. richest 400 families in USA hold $1.37 TRILLION DOLLARS.. >>LINKS>>>

the richest 1% hold 42% of Americas Financial Wealth, 6 times what the Bottom 80% hold at 7%.. the richest 5% hold 72%.. the group that gets the lions share of the Bu$h43 tax cuts, well over 40 billion a yr, the richest 20% holds 93% of americas financial wealth, the bottom 80% holds only 7%

http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html

the GOP leadership and the Tea Party has been taken over by a Theo-Fascist Plutocratic religious cult known as Doug Coes C st Family started by Abraham Vereide in 1934, he was a Nazi, they call themselves the Christian Mafia.

see http://www.amazon.com/Family-Secret-Fundamentalism-Heart-American/dp/0060560053/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312653553&sr=1-3

http://www.amazon.com/Street-Fundamentalist-American-Democracy-Readers/dp/0316091065/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312653553&sr=1-1

they believe that wealth and power are the only proof of gods favor of a man, so it is a sin to tax a rich man. and the poor are being punished by god so it is a sin to help them.. explains it all.. doesn't it.

http://www.exminister.org/Madsen-Christian-mafia-second.html
http://www.hiddenmysteries.net/newz/article.php/20061227192018680
http://www.hiddenmysteries.net/newz/article.php/20061227192215508

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3072344

http://doggo.tripod.com/doggchrisdomin.html

[a2liberal]

41. K&R (n/t)

[blm]

44. time for a KICK

.

[hay rick]

45. K&R

[DaveJ]

46. It's not just billionaires keeping us in servitude

Most rethugs believe withholding healthcare and housing keeps us working hard! Even the small business owners who vote republican.

[HughBeaumont]

47. Always happy to K & R.

Of course, even more disgusting human beings are the peasants who refuse to accept they're peasants defending the Job Cremators.

"Can't Strengthen the Weak by Weakening the Strong" - sign at the 9/12 rally.

Any drooling peasant carrying that piece of shit around should be laughed at and ridiculed relentlessly.

[JanMichael]

50. OMG! I just had a great idea for a show. "Hoarders - of the USA"

Go film these cretins in their mansions, ID their politcal contributions, interview their money sucking vampire children, look in their vaults and then go to a normal house and do the same.

Shame them.

[nineteen50]

51. "Can

I ave some more please?"

[baldguy]

52. .

[RagAss]

53. It's all fun and games until someone wheels out the fucking Guillotine.

[flamingdem]

57. +2

[chervilant]

73. Which is why

the uber wealthy elite are counting on decades of Bernaysian propaganda to anesthetize the masses, so we WON'T wheel out the guillotine.

[bertman]

54. Thanks for posting this, Octafish. REC. nt

[HCE SuiGeneris]

55. "Used to be the journalist's job..." No shit. A failed (owned) Fourth Estate is costing us dearly.

Thank you for another incredibly newsworthy post.

:thumbsup:

[lonestarnot]

59. Well, Texas is creating so many jobs they're #1! Woofuckinghoo!

Walmart, McDonald's, owned/owners, the two class system in USA keeps trying to perculate, is it done yet?

[Horse with no Name]

61. The only money that corporations are spending is the money that they are using to buy politicians

and influence elections. But I have stated several times that WHY on earth would ANY corporation who is getting tax breaks and subsidies even bother to run a company when they can get free money? It saves them the effort of daily business, hiring, firing, benefits, etc. and they can make the same amount, free and clear.
THAT is what is wrong with this country.
I have no problem giving incentives--but those incentives need to be filled with strong language, timelines, and guarantees for the working people.
Giving a bunch of folks temporary jobs at call centers or big box stores without benefits and low wages does NOTHING for the economy--the tax payer continues to foot the bill in food stamps, Medicaid, etc. and the companies get free labor basically.

Great post. Thank you.

[ck4829]

62. K&R

[TheUnspeakable]

63. k&r

[disillusioned73]

64. Big time K&R...

thanks for posting:dem:

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

65. At least they didn't steal a telly in Essex.

:patriot:

[orbitalman]

66. K & R

[Hubert Flottz]

68. It's the "New World Order"

Same thing as the "New Order"...same shit different assholes.

[H2O Man]

69. Recommended.

Thank you for continuing to provide the DU community with outstanding contributions.

[Overseas]

70. It really has been frustrating how much of our broadcast media supports GOP lies.

Not even a simple thing like having news reporters ask every Republican how they can still insist that tax cuts to the wealthy create jobs when the evidence shows the opposite.

[Eljo_Don]

71. The inebitable solution.

If the top 0,1% don't realize the consequences of what they are doing then the USA will lose it's position as a military power. No money no army. Then the socialist and communist will take over the whole world. This 0.1% will lose everything because everything will be nationalized. Take a look at this:

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=9ff_1313439625

[PhoenixAbove]

72. K&R There are too many people in the USA that...

need to be edumacated about this.

[Ignis]

74. I missed the Rec window, but here's a Kick.

:kick:

[blm]

75. and another

.