3 Ways the Super-Rich Suck Wealth out of the Rest of Us

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http://www.alternet.org/economy/3-ways-super-rich-suck-wealth-out-rest-us



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1. They've Taken $1.6 Million Per Family in New Wealth Since the Recession

The richest 5% of American families each gained at least that much in five years, mostly from the stock market. Using data from Credit Suisse, the Economic Policy Institute, Pew Research, and the Census Bureau and two separate analyses (shown here and here), this extraordinary wealth grab can be calculated.


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2. They Create Imaginary Money That Turns Real

The world's wealth has doubled in a little over ten years. The financial industry has, in effect, created a whole new share of global wealth and redistributed much of it to itself.

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3. They've Stopped Payment on Productive Americans

Reputable sources agree that the working class has not been properly compensated for its productivity, and that the "rent-seeking" behavior of the financial industry, rather than changes in technology, is extracting wealth from society.

As a result, our median inflation-adjusted household wealth has dropped from $73,000 to $57,000 in a little over 25 years. We've lost another five percent of our wealth since the recession.