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The rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, all with government's help. And by the government, I mean not just those in Washington, but you and me.
Case in point, in the US the "trickle down theory" which suggests that the wealthy should be taxed less so that money can "trickle down" in the form of new jobs and commerce ... sounds good on paper except the reality is that the rich just took the extra money and ran:
The average tax rate paid by the richest 400 Americans fell by a quarter to 17.2 percent through the first six years of the Bush administration and their average income doubled to $263.3 million, new IRS data show.
And they want to keep it.
And why not? Why help someone else when its much more fulfilling to add another skiff to your fleet? Its certainly a better bargain to buy a $65,000 office chair than help feed a family of someone who has lost their job and wants another one. Think about it ... a @!$%#ing office chair ... and the only reason they make these things is because people buy them! (Of course you could really splurge and get the $1.5 million chair, just to show up those people with the cheaper ones!)
And how many cars does one person need? Or homes? (Note that these are just the merely rich, not the really rich)
And if you think these people are rich because they worked hard and earned it, think again:
People on the vertical spike can use their influence single-mindedly and very effectively. A single billionaire can get the undivided attention of any politician he wants, any time he wants. If he doesn't get what he wants he can, in fact, "fight city hall," the statehouse, and even the federal government. People on the horizontal spike must pool their limited individual power and organize to have any effect at all. This is a very difficult thing to manage, in practice.
Surprise! With a congressman or 10 in your pocket, your tax rate magically goes down!
And just what are the top 25% of the wealthy worth?
In 2004, the wealthiest 25% of US households owned 87% ($43.6 trillion) of the country's wealth ....
Granted this was four years ago, but $43 trillion? What is it now? How much of that was squirreled away "trickle down" money that created deficits to drive our current national debt up to $11 trillion?
Now to be fair, the "Bush Tax Cuts" did create jobs:
Despite the experience of the past eight years, some continue to argue for more huge, regressive tax cuts that were the centerpiece of Bush's economic policy. But more of the same is not the way to reverse the economic slide and create jobs. The Bush tax cuts cost about $800,000 for every job they created, even under the Bush administration's own optimistic methodology.
I wish I got one of those $800,000 jobs. I wonder who did? Since the average wage last year was $40,405, where did the remaining $759,595 go? I wonder.
Maybe these folks think "trickle down" is seen as something that requires their Bugatti mechanic's attention.
So for every job, Various sociological statistics suggest the severity of wealth inequality "with the top 10% possessing 80% of all financial assets [and] the bottom 90% holding only 20% of all financial wealth."
No question they want to keep it. BAD. Do not be fooled or feel sorry for these folks, they took advantage of this great country in every way they could. They understand that the best side to a Madoff-style screw is the side that ends up with all the money. These 10% are the people who will be kicking and screaming bloody murder if their taxes go up, yet have the capability to pay off the national debt and have 75% of their wealth remain. They are content to sit on their piles of hoarded cash while the economy rots. These are Selfish People getting richer knowing that the average American is getting poorer.
And they need to wake up and be willing to give back some of what they have taken because historically, this is the stuff of which revolutions are made.
