Top 1 percent of Americans possess more wealth than the entire bottom 90 percent

[CrusaderFrank]

Conservative want people to succeed, yes, that is why we're loathed and hated by Communists, Socialists and Marxists everywhere

 

[Mr Natural]

If all it took was hard work and determination, there'd be a whole lot more billionaires around.

 

[flacaltenn]

The 400 wealthiest Americans have a greater combined net worth than the bottom 150 million Americans.

The top 1 percent of Americans possess more wealth than the entire bottom 90 percent.

If you trace back the source of that data that a lazy journalist just regurgitated -- you'll find that it links to the same phoney source as that pie-chart that Chris has been passing off. Amazing how Mark Twain was right when he said..

"A lie can spread half-way around the world before the truth even gets it's pants on".. He'd be amazed how much truer that is today..

From the thread --- http://www.usmessageboard.com/4180468-post1.html

Aren't those leftists peddling this point the least bit interested in WHERE the source of the data came from? (NO!!)

I traced the "source" back to approx here..

Wealth holdings remain unequal in good and bad times | State of Working America


Quote:
Wolff, Edward. 2010. Unpublished analysis of the Survey of Consumer Finances (2007) & Federal Reserve Flow of Funds (2009) data prepared in 2010 for the Economic Policy Institute.
NOTE ---> the SOURCE is an "UNPUBLISHED analysis of the Survey of Consumer Finances". If that passes for the smell test for you --- you MUST be a class warrior, Daily Kos dwelling leftist.

The only time I've ever disclosed net worth was on College Finance App (FAFSA). Even my financial advisors don't know the whole picture.
Without a STUDY to show their numbers, methodology, and assumptions, that FACTOID is meaningless. And the fact that it is a UNPUBLISHED analysis ought to tell you a lot.. But you're a party animal and not INTERESTED in analysis -- RIGHT RDEAN???

Tell me RDEAN are the 12Mill ILLEGAL workers counted in that statistic? You don't know do ya... Who supplies stock and equity holdings information on every citizen? Is it based on TAXFILERS -- or ALL Americans? Does it count STUDENTS?

You're a moron if you don't care about the BASIC questions...

 

[flacaltenn]

There really isn't a thread here. It's based on garbage data...

 

[bitterlyclingin]

When 50 per cent of the population are on the government dole, it don't take much to make that one per cent.
The prevailing mood, especially with the Occupy Wall Street crowd is "If I can just sit back and recline at table and have Obama send me my forty legions of angels to drop grapes into my open and waiting mouth whenever I wish, why should I work?"
Working requires getting yourself up at an early hour, bathing, shaving, getting yourself dressed, getting yourself out into that detestable cold air (or heat), providing transportation to and from your place of employ, and then worst of all being required to station yourself at whatever work station your employer provides and Heaven forbid, keeping your attention focused on the task at hand and, God forbid, that you have to sweat while you're at it. So much easier to hang around carrying a protest sign that someone else probably printed up for you and scope out all the stoned trollops, getting body painted, hanging around.
Gone are the days when a Sicilian back at home in Italy would receive and respond to a note from a relative over in America telling him to come on over, you can find ample work here to make yourself the "Good life" you've always dreamt of.
America today is not the America of immigrants responding to Liberty's siren call "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" but instead a huddled mass yearning for a benevolent master. Good news though. The Occupy Walll Street crowd just received the support of both
the Nazi and Communist Parties.

 

[rdean]

Conservative want people to succeed, yes, that is why we're loathed and hated by Communists, Socialists and Marxists everywhere

What makes you think you are anything but a failure?

 

[rdean]

When 50 per cent of the population are on the government dole, it don't take much to make that one per cent.
The prevailing mood, especially with the Occupy Wall Street crowd is "If I can just sit back and recline at table and have Obama send me my forty legions of angels to drop grapes into my open and waiting mouth whenever I wish, why should I work?"
Working requires getting yourself up at an early hour, bathing, shaving, getting yourself dressed, getting yourself out into that detestable cold air (or heat), providing transportation to and from your place of employ, and then worst of all being required to station yourself at whatever work station your employer provides and Heaven forbid, keeping your attention focused on the task at hand and, God forbid, that you have to sweat while you're at it. So much easier to hang around carrying a protest sign that someone else probably printed up for you and scope out all the stoned trollops, getting body painted, hanging around.
Gone are the days when a Sicilian back at home in Italy would receive and respond to a note from a relative over in America telling him to come on over, you can find ample work here to make yourself the "Good life" you've always dreamt of.
America today is not the America of immigrants responding to Liberty's siren call "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" but instead a huddled mass yearning for a benevolent master. Good news though. The Occupy Walll Street crowd just received the support of both
the Nazi and Communist Parties.

When your job is moved to China, do you think you will have an easy time getting another one?

 

[The T]

Conservative want people to succeed, yes, that is why we're loathed and hated by Communists, Socialists and Marxists everywhere

What makes you think you are anything but a failure?

First deany? Stop looking in the mirror. There's your failure staring back at you.

 

[rdean]

The 400 wealthiest Americans have a greater combined net worth than the bottom 150 million Americans.

The top 1 percent of Americans possess more wealth than the entire bottom 90 percent.

If you trace back the source of that data that a lazy journalist just regurgitated -- you'll find that it links to the same phoney source as that pie-chart that Chris has been passing off. Amazing how Mark Twain was right when he said..

"A lie can spread half-way around the world before the truth even gets it's pants on".. He'd be amazed how much truer that is today..

From the thread --- http://www.usmessageboard.com/4180468-post1.html

Aren't those leftists peddling this point the least bit interested in WHERE the source of the data came from? (NO!!)

I traced the "source" back to approx here..

Wealth holdings remain unequal in good and bad times | State of Working America


Quote:
Wolff, Edward. 2010. Unpublished analysis of the Survey of Consumer Finances (2007) & Federal Reserve Flow of Funds (2009) data prepared in 2010 for the Economic Policy Institute.
NOTE ---> the SOURCE is an "UNPUBLISHED analysis of the Survey of Consumer Finances". If that passes for the smell test for you --- you MUST be a class warrior, Daily Kos dwelling leftist.

The only time I've ever disclosed net worth was on College Finance App (FAFSA). Even my financial advisors don't know the whole picture.
Without a STUDY to show their numbers, methodology, and assumptions, that FACTOID is meaningless. And the fact that it is a UNPUBLISHED analysis ought to tell you a lot.. But you're a party animal and not INTERESTED in analysis -- RIGHT RDEAN???

Tell me RDEAN are the 12Mill ILLEGAL workers counted in that statistic? You don't know do ya... Who supplies stock and equity holdings information on every citizen? Is it based on TAXFILERS -- or ALL Americans? Does it count STUDENTS?

You're a moron if you don't care about the BASIC questions...

So you are saying there is no income inequality. That there are plenty of jobs but people must be too lazy to work. The nation's infrastructure is in tip-top shape. Those on Wall Street are completely honest. That if there are any problems it's illegal aliens who make less than the minimum wage and get no health care who're to blame.

Did I get it right? Did that make sense to your tiny mind?

 

[rdean]

Conservative want people to succeed, yes, that is why we're loathed and hated by Communists, Socialists and Marxists everywhere

What makes you think you are anything but a failure?

First deany? Stop looking in the mirror. There's your failure staring back at you.

Another failure with a bowl of fail eating old failed and slurping fail from a cup.

 

[eflatminor]

The top 1 percent of Americans possess more wealth than the entire bottom 90 percent.

I really don't understand why you and others focus on wealth distribution, as though there is a limited supply of wealth that must be dived up. Wealth can be created or destroyed. There is no upper limit. You get that right?

More importantly, please tell me this: If a guy is smart, works hard, makes good decisions and the proper sacrifices and ends up launching a company that is extremely successful, he will employ lots of people, earn a profit and make himself very rich. My question is, who does that hurt or stated another way, how is someone making themselves rich bad for society?

 

[bripat9643]

Conservative want people to succeed, yes, that is why we're loathed and hated by Communists, Socialists and Marxists everywhere

What makes you think you are anything but a failure?

He compares himself to you, and that makes him feel like a winner.

 

[Charles_Main]

life's unfair.

keep it under your hat.

Indeed it is. Therefore we should do nothing about it.

Every other time in History that government have set down the road of attempting to Make things fair by law, the result was Totalitarianism of one sort or another.

You really want to go down that road again? Just because Obama and the Left of the Democrat Party are stupid enough to think they are the ones who will finally get it right this time?

 

[The T]

life's unfair.

keep it under your hat.

Indeed it is. Therefore we should do nothing about it.

Every other time in History that government have set down the road of attempting to Make things fair by law, the result was Totalitarianism of one sort or another.

You really want to go down that road again? Just because Obama and the Left of the Democrat Party are stupid enough to think they are the ones who will finally get it right this time?

The Soviet tried to make things fair once upon a time too...

 

[Quantum Windbag]

The 400 wealthiest Americans have a greater combined net worth than the bottom 150 million Americans.

The top 1 percent of Americans possess more wealth than the entire bottom 90 percent.

In the Bush expansion from 2002 to 2007, 65 percent of economic gains went to the richest 1 percent.

More broadly, there’s a growing sense that lopsided outcomes are a result of tycoons’ manipulating the system, lobbying for loopholes and getting away with murder. Of the 100 highest-paid chief executives in the United States in 2010, 25 took home more pay than their company paid in federal corporate income taxes, according to the Institute for Policy Studies.

Living under Communism in China made me a fervent enthusiast of capitalism. I believe that over the last couple of centuries banks have enormously raised living standards in the West by allocating capital to more efficient uses. But anyone who believes in markets should be outraged that banks rig the system so that they enjoy profits in good years and bailouts in bad years.

The banks have gotten away with privatizing profits and socializing risks, and that’s just another form of bank robbery.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/opinion/sunday/kristof-americas-primal-scream.html

----------------

He goes on to cite studies that show "income inequality" keeps the economy from growing. Well, these are simply common sense. Democrats on this board, including me, have been pointing this out for the last few months. The Republicans here keep saying, "Oh, it's because you're lazy and don't know how to work". What a bunch of fools.

With huge income inequality, you have a lack of demand. That means "no jobs". And look at the AVERAGE Wall Street Job. Well over $300,000.00 a year for producing NOTHING. Just moving money around. Could you imagine if we followed Republicans idea of throwing our money into the stock market? Of all the crazy, insane schemes.

How many USMB Republicans are sleeping in a bag in the living room of mom's double wide, out of work, who are calling the left, "Lazy, no good communist bums?"

With this type of income inequality, there is no "Hard work and you can succeed". Because there are no jobs. No way to pay off those loans. Income inequality sucks the life out of the economy. How many of those guys did it, NOT with hard work, but with bought politicians?

Thanks for the links rdean. Usually I have to use my brain to expose your lies, today all I had to do was use my fingers.

One of the links that the idiot that wrote that piece used to support his position was this one.

PolitiFact Wisconsin | Michael Moore says 400 Americans have more wealth than half of all Americans combined

Politifact generously rated this statement as true even though they admitted there are problems with it, and that it would only be true for 2009. Do I really have to go into why a fat white 1%er is not a person anyone should trust when it comes to numbers?

The next link he used is this.

About That 99 Percent ... - NYTimes.com

Not only does the headline contradict the Michael Moore claim, it is not even supported by the story that is at the link.

According to an analysis of Federal Reserve data by the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal research organization, the top 1 percent of Americans by net worth hold about a third of American wealth.The average net worth for the 99th percentile in net worth was $19,167,600 as of 2007, based on this research. The average net worth of the next 9 percent of Americans was $2,371,500.
That means, of course, that the bottom 99 percent of Americans includes an awful lot of millionaires.

The next link he uses is a dead link.


http://elsa.berkeley.edu/˜saez/atkinson-piketty-saezJEL10.pdf





No wonder you never post links.

 

[NYcarbineer]

life's unfair.

keep it under your hat.

Indeed it is. Therefore we should do nothing about it.

Every other time in History that government have set down the road of attempting to Make things fair by law, the result was Totalitarianism of one sort or another.

You really want to go down that road again? Just because Obama and the Left of the Democrat Party are stupid enough to think they are the ones who will finally get it right this time?

What horseshit. From the Constitution on, the history of this country is a history of the People using the law to try to make things fair.

 

[Si modo]

Indeed it is. Therefore we should do nothing about it.

Every other time in History that government have set down the road of attempting to Make things fair by law, the result was Totalitarianism of one sort or another.

You really want to go down that road again? Just because Obama and the Left of the Democrat Party are stupid enough to think they are the ones who will finally get it right this time?

What horseshit. From the Constitution on, the history of this country is a history of the People using the law to try to make things fair.

Not really. The Constitution ensures that no one is above the law, which makes the playing field equal for all. Life still isn't fair and thinking that you can legislate a fair life is folly. The Constitution certainly does NOT allow the government to seize property from one to give to another in some futile and subjective idea of what is fair.

The ONLY fairness the Constitution ensures is the same playing field. The game of individual freedoms, guaranteed by the Constitution, is then played.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Conservative want people to succeed, yes, that is why we're loathed and hated by Communists, Socialists and Marxists everywhere

What makes you think you are anything but a failure?

I get so much enjoyment from your posts, you have no idea! Most of my teachers were "Progressives" like you. I think they'e all dead now, but being able to challenge you to "Debate" you and see you looking like Capt Pike drooling all over 6% yourself makes me weep tears of joy.

That's success you can't put a price on

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Conservative want people to succeed, yes, that is why we're loathed and hated by Communists, Socialists and Marxists everywhere

What makes you think you are anything but a failure?

Had to take the "Communists, Socialists and Marxists " bait didn't ya?

 

[Brutus]

The 400 wealthiest Americans have a greater combined net worth than the bottom 150 million Americans.

1) People like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates have more because they contribute so much more! A liberal could be worth $50 billion too if he could invent something and sell a $trillion worth of it! Its far easier for an envious psycho liberal to encourage tax theft or flap his gums than to actually invent and market a product that helps raise our standard of living from the stone age to here.

2) Overall, the combined wealth of the 400 wealthiest people in America rose to $1.5 trillion according to the "Forbes 400" survey.

Private assets in America are worth $70 trillion (see debt clock). Governments at all levels own another $85 trillion mostly in land and buildings, 70 million single family homes are worth $12 trillion, autos are worth $1 trillion alone; so the top 400 own almost nothing to speak of.


3) 300 of the top 400 qualify as business owners so further liberal tax violence toward them would , in effect, be stealing new jobs and products. This is the last thing we want while in yet another liberal recession.

4) the top 1% pay 38% of Federal taxes as it is. No nation (not even beloved socialist Europe) depends on the rich as much as America. This means no nation punishes itself by crippling its job creators as much as America does.

5) Federal state and local spending on the poor totals $6 trillion a year, every year, year in and year out; apparently forever. This means that every year the government spends, on the poor, 6 times what the the top 400 have been able to accumulate over many generations. Or, not to confuse liberals, this means the poor have, in effect, a net wealth of $100 trillion in order that the government can generate $6 trillion yearly from it in welfare payments of various sorts for the poor. By the way, $100 trillion is far more than $1.5 trillion.



Western countries wealth owned
by top 10%:

Switzerland 71.3%
United States 69.8%
Denmark 65.0%
France 61.0%