Gatsbys and the rest of us: the rich and poor divide in pictures

[c1ue]

Again, outcomes should not be legislated. But clearly opportunity is not equal anymore.

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011...ca-chart-graph

A huge share of the nation's economic growth over the past 30 years has gone to the top one-hundredth of one percent, who now make an average of $27 million per household. The average income for the bottom 90 percent of us? $31,244.




Note: The 2007 data (the most current) doesn't reflect the impact of the housing market crash. In 2007, the bottom 60% of Americans had 65% of their net worth tied up in their homes. The top 1%, in contrast, had just 10%. The housing crisis has no doubt further swelled the share of total net worth held by the superrich.

Winners Take All

The superrich have grabbed the bulk of the past three decades' gains.


Out of Balance

A Harvard business prof and a behavioral economist recently asked more than 5,000 Americans how they thought wealth is distributed in the United States. Most thought that it’s more balanced than it actually is. Asked to choose their ideal distribution of wealth, 92% picked one that was even more equitable.


Capitol Gain

Why Washington is closer to Wall Street than Main Street.

member	max. est. net worth
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.)	$451.1 million
Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.)	$435.4 million
Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.)	$366.2 million
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.)	$294.9 million
Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.)	$285.1 million
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.)	$283.1 million
Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.)	$231.2 million
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas)	$201.5 million
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.)	$136.2 million
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)	$108.1 million
combined net worth:	$2.8 billion

Congressional data from 2009. Family net worth data from 2007. Sources: Center for Responsive Politics; US Census; Edward Wolff, Bard College.

Who's Winning?

For a healthy few, it's getting better all the time.

YOUR LOSS,THEIR GAIN

How much income have you given up for the top 1 percent?


Sources
Income distribution: Emmanuel Saez (PDF)


Net worth: Edward Wolff (PDF)
Household income/income share: Congressional Budget Office
Real vs. desired distribution of wealth: Michael I. Norton and Dan Ariely (PDF)
Net worth of Americans vs. Congress: Federal Reserve (average); Center for Responsive Politics (Congress)
Your chances of being a millionaire: Calculation based on data from Wolff (PDF); US Census (household and population data)
Member of Congress' chances: Center for Responsive Politics
Wealthiest members of Congress: Center for Responsive Politics
Tax cut votes: New York Times (Senate; House)
Wall street profits, 2007-2009: New York State Comptroller (PDF)
Unemployment rate, 2007-2009: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Home equity, 2007-2009: Federal Reserve, Flow of Funds data, 1995-2004 and 2005-2009 (PDFs)
CEO vs. worker pay: Economic Policy Institute
Historic tax rates: Calculations based on data from The Tax Foundation
Federal tax revenue: Joint Committee on Taxation (PDF)

[lektrode]

Re: Gatsbys and the rest of us: the rich and poor divide in pictures

and once again, Mr c1ue, you continue to amaze us with your ability to come up with truly meaningful info..

and once again, i'm coming 'round to the opinion that ole franklin depression roosevelt had it right, when he said (? paraphrasing) TAX EM TIL THEY BLEED (sez this former resident of NH, an independent, who leans 'pub, but always listens to the other side)
not only do we need to get the public sector unions (its not about the rank n file) and their corrupt/bought-off dem political hacks out of our wallets, but WE NEED THE TOP 5% TO PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE, while we continue to chop away at the layers of fat and corruption that have been layered upon layer onto our backs over the past 80 years....

the time is NOW and its just too damn bad, aint it? when someone like walker in WI gets tarred/feathered by the leftwing media, as if we dont start somewhere - the USA = dooomed (and it doesnt matter of what political pursuasion one is, if WE THE PEOPLE (vs _them_ the political aristocracy) dont start agreeing on _something_ we mights well bend over, place our heads tween our legs, and kiss our asses goodbye....

Again, outcomes should not be legislated. But clearly opportunity is not equal anymore.

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011...ca-chart-graph

[metalman]

Re: Gatsbys and the rest of us: the rich and poor divide in pictures

and once again, Mr c1ue, you continue to amaze us with your ability to come up with truly meaningful info..

and once again, i'm coming 'round to the opinion that ole franklin depression roosevelt had it right, when he said (? paraphrasing) TAX EM TIL THEY BLEED (sez this former resident of NH, an independent, who leans 'pub, but always listens to the other side)
not only do we need to get the public sector unions (its not about the rank n file) and their corrupt/bought-off dem political hacks out of our wallets, but WE NEED THE TOP 5% TO PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE, while we continue to chop away at the layers of fat and corruption that have been layered upon layer onto our backs over the past 80 years....

the time is NOW and its just too damn bad, aint it? when someone like walker in WI gets tarred/feathered by the leftwing media, as if we dont start somewhere - the USA = dooomed (and it doesnt matter of what political pursuasion one is, if WE THE PEOPLE (vs _them_ the political aristocracy) dont start agreeing on _something_ we mights well bend over, place our heads tween our legs, and kiss our asses goodbye....

& lookie what i found...

[lektrode]

Re: Gatsbys and the rest of us: the rich and poor divide in pictures

thanyou, thanyouvermush....

& lookie what i found...

BRILLIANT!!!! absolutely.

looks like a reason to goto DC - to watch history being made....
awwww... damn! nope:

"..The CEO Roundtable is open only to officials from APPA member utilities, joint action agencies, and state and regional associations. Registration is limited to about 60 public power CEOs and senior executives..."

but still - anything that gets Our Man in front of this group is worth CHEERING FOR!!! (best news eye've seen all month - thank YOU metalman!)

8:30 a.m. – Noon
The Post-Catrastrophe Economy: Rebuilding America and Avoiding the Next Bubble
Discussion Leader
Eric Janszen, economic forecaster, author, former CEO, and venture capitalist, New York, N.Y.
There are many theories on how to fix the American economy. Eric Janszen has gained wide attention for his theory that the U.S. economy must abandon its boom and bust tendencies in order to regain stable growth and remain an international leader. Instead of an economy dominated by debt-driven enterprises (finance, insurance, and real estate), the nation must make and sell real things. In addition, as energy prices rise, and with the end of cheap oil, Americans must avoid putting global competitiveness on the line and instead invest in transportation, energy and communications infrastructure.
Eric Janszen, a nationally recognized speaker on domestic and international economic and energy issues, will explain the factors that are driving our political economy and what the United States must do to achieve long-term sustainable growth in a period of fundamental change.
Eric Janszen has more than 30 years of executive experience in high-tech start-up companies, venture capital investing, finance and economics. He is the founder and president of iTulip, Inc., an economic analysis firm that provides Fortune 100 and other clients with economic and market forecasts. He is frequently quoted by CNBC, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Business Week and other business media.
He has served on more than a dozen corporate boards and co-authored America’s Bubble Economy, (2006), and the just-published (September 2010) best seller: The Post-Catastrophe Economy: Rebuilding America and Avoiding the Next Bubble, which addresses what’s wrong with America’s economy and how to fix it.

[dropthatcash]

Re: Gatsbys and the rest of us: the rich and poor divide in pictures

A few things that I feel really need to be corrected. First, Bush hasn't been in office for over two years. calling the tax cuts Bush-tax-cuts is simply a red herring to defuse culpability away from Obama. I'm not pointing this out for partisan reasons as since 1999 I though Bush to be totally incompetent and I disagreed with every single one of his progressive liberal policies. The other point being charts priced in dollars need to be corrected for inflation. Using uncorrected dollars is more misleading than if you'd priced incomes in terms of tons of squid per person. Also, a chart not set to logrithmic scale tends to cloud perceptions of individuals less fluent in mathematics.