Reaching A Consensus On “Reform”
What an interesting intersection.
What an interesting intersection.
A few thoughts to consider as nations around the world ponder intervention in Syria.
The Article: The Rich Have Gained $5.6 Trillion in the ‘Recovery,’ While the Rest of Us Have Lost $669 Billion by Les Leopold in AlterNet.
The Text: Oh, are we getting ripped off. And now we’ve got the data to prove it. From 2009 to 2011, the richest 8 million families (the top 7%) on average saw their wealth rise from $1.7 million to $2.5 million each. Meanwhile the rest of us — the bottom 93% (that’s 111 million families) — suffered on average a decline of $6,000 each.
Do the math and you’ll discover that the top 7% gained a whopping $5.6 trillion in net worth (assets minus liabilities) while the rest of lost $669 billion. Their wealth went up by 28% while ours went down by 4 percent.
It’s as if the entire economic recovery is going into the pockets of the rich. And that’s no accident. Here’s why.
1. The bailouts went to Wall Street, not to Main Street.
Required reading: former labor secretary Robert Reich’s recent post on the real IRS scandal.
We’ve long known that McConnell’s preferred political maneuvering is subterranean, so let’s sink ’em before they sink the middle class and working poor.