It has gotten worse in 5 years

Some of the rest of Americans Wealth statistics 2010 The median wealth of American families (meaning half above and half below) dropped from $126,400 in 2007 all the way down to $77,300 in 2010. That's a 39% slide. It puts the median net worth of American families at its lowest level since 1995, fifteen years earlier. About 12% of American families have a negative net worth. Meaning that they're broke. Among Americans with no high school diploma (15 percent of the adult population), median wealth plunged from $34,800 in 2007 to $16,100 in 2010, a 54% drop. That is the lowest level since at least the Fed's 1983 survey, maybe earlier. So three decades of progress have been wiped out. Among minorities, median wealth plunged from $29,700 to $20,400. That is the lowest level since 1992. White median wealth is now 540% higher than minority median wealth. The median value of American homes dove from $209,500 in 2007 to $170,000 in 2010. But the median mortgage was almost completely unchanged: $74,700 in 2007, $74,100 in 2010. So debt payments increased from 7% of income to 11% of income. In 2007, the bottom 25% had a net worth of $14,800 or less. In 2010, the bottom 25% had a net worth of $8,300 or less, a 44% decline. The Federal Reserve just released its Survey of Consumer Finances, the only government survey of wealth in America. The Survey is conducted every three years. This survey, conducted in 2010, is the first one to reflect the effects of the Wall Street Meltdown in 2008.

Percentage of total income captured by wealthiest 1%

Real Income Growth by Groups   Average Income Top 1% Incomes Bottom 99% Incomes Fraction of total Real Growth Real Growth Real Growth growth (or loss) captured by top 1% Full period 1993-2012 17.9% 86.1% 6.6% 68% Clinton Expansion 1993-2000 31.5% 98.7% 20.3% 45% 2001 Recession 2000-2002 -11.7% -30.8% -6.5% 57% Bush Expansion 2002-2007 16.1% 61.8% 6.8% 65% Great Recession 2007-2009 -17.4% -36.3% -11.6% 49% Recovery 2009-2012 6.0% 31.4% 0.4% 95% Source: Piketty and Saez (2003), series updated to 2012 in August 2013 using IRS preliminary tax statistics for 2012.

The richest 400

The poor 46 million people, or about 15% of the population, live below the federal poverty line. Of those, 20.5 million Americans, or 6.7%, live at or below 50% of the poverty line. In 2010, being among the poorest poor meant an income of $5,570 or less for an individual and $11,157 for a family of four. That 6.7% share is the highest in the 35 years that the Census Bureau has maintained such records, surpassing previous highs in 2009 and 1993 of just over 6%.

How did we find ourselves in this condition? Governmental policies Tax policy Minimum wage Union organizing   Structural changes in the economy From a manufacturing to a service economy Off-shoring and outsourcing International trade pacts Growth of financial sector

TAXATION OF HIGHEST INCOME BRACKET HISTORICAL VIEW

People are creating more wealth

Gross unfairness in sharing the fruits of work Since 1978, CEO pay at American firms has risen 725 percent, more than 127 times faster than worker pay over the same time period, according to new data from the Economic Policy Institute From 1978 to 2011, CEO compensation increased more than 725 percent, a rise substantially greater than stock market growth and the painfully slow 5.7 percent growth in worker compensation over the same period. CEOs don’t even have to be successful to get rewarded. Take the case of Ronald Johnson, most recent CEO of J.C. Penney. His compensation last year was $53.3 million, 1,725 times the average J.C. Penney wage and benefits package. But during his short tenure the company lost huge amounts of money, so he was let go this April.

Labor union membership How has top corporate management gotten away with arrogating to itself a vastly increased percentage of the wealth all the workers produce? Answer: The alarming decline of the labor union movement.

Structural changes in the economy From a manufacturing to a service economy Off-shoring and outsourcing International trade pacts Growth of financial sector

How to get a handle on this problem Work for tax fairness, including a tax on financial transactions. Promote a living minimum wage (state and nationally). Join a union, and work to unionize any non- union workplace in which you find yourselves. Support passage of a constitutional amendment to declare that corporations are not people and money is not speech protected by the First Amendment. 5. Start working now to defeat the Trans Pacific Partnership.