4 Money Grabs Show a Few Rich People Are the Ones Getting Wealthier in America

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/economy/4-money-grabs-show-few-rich-people-are-ones-getting-wealthier-america



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1. Just 13 Americans Made More from Their Investments in 2013 than the Entire SNAP Budget

Some wealthy Americans like to refer to themselves as "makers," and food stamp recipients as "takers," even though most of the latter are children, the elderly, or low-wage workers. Many of the top 13 on the Forbes list did not make anything of significance in 2013. Yet by being heavily invested in the stock market they were able to take $80 billion among them, more than a year of food stamps for almost 50 millionpeople.

2. The Richest 400 Took $300 Billion in 2013, Approximately the ENTIRE Safety Net

The total budget for SNAP, WIC (Women, Infants, children), Child Nutrition, Earned Income Tax Credit, Supplemental Security Income, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and Housing is less than the $300 billion 'earned' by the Forbes 400.

3. The Richest 12,000 Families are Estimated to have Each Made $40 Million in the Past Year

The stock market grew by $4.7 trillion in 2013. The richest 1% owns about 38% of all stocks, or about $1.8 trillion of the 2013 gain.

At the lofty levels of the unimaginably rich, the takings of the .1% (120,000 households), and even moreso of the .01% (12,000 households), become progressively greater and greater for the very richest households (unlike their taxes). According to wealth data compiled by Kopczuk and Saez, each member of the elite .01% group owns about 40 times the wealth of an average member of the richest one percent. Assuming that this ratio holds for accumulated 2013 wealth, each of the 12,000 super-rich American families made about $40 million in just one year. This is not an unreasonable conclusion, in light of the average gain of $750 million for each member of the Forbes 400.

4. The Richest 400 Individuals Own More Than Three-Fifths of America

The richest 400 now own over $2 trillion among them, or about 2.8% of the country's wealth of $72 trillion. This is more than the holdings of three-fifths of America, or 72 million families.

[LuvNewcastle]

1. Don't you think we need to cut their taxes so we can 'spur growth?'

[hobbit709]

2. What needs to be cut is not their taxes.

[Egalitarian Thug]

3. Hear, hear! Thank you very much. n/t

[LuvNewcastle]

4. LOL!

[bucolic_frolic]

5. Philanthropy would Help

Look at the late Paul Newman's legacy

He cloned food companies, they make great products, many (or all, I
don't know) under license. IOW they may not own manufacturing facilities.

All the profits go to charities.

If society could ever get to that point, where the rich are rich and content,
and the profits of society's labors, even though privately owned, go to charities
to help society ....

I know. Delusions.

[madokie]

6. All this money these assholes are getting is coming out of our pockets in one way or another

This is a good example of whats wrong in our system.
Why does these few jackasses have a need for all that money anyway? It's fucking nothing but greed and don't give a shit about anyone else 'ism and nothing more.

sometimes I wonder if there shouldn't be a season on these bastards.

[dchill]

8. +1!

[mikeysnot]

11. Money hoarders

they are sick and depraved.

[madokie]

12. And need their asses kick up one side and down the other

If it was only them they hurt that would be a whole different ballgame altogether but it isn't. These jackasses are hurting all of us who wasn't born with a silver spoon in our mouths or who didn't get that GREED gene to begin with.

[daleanime]

7. K&R....

[dchill]

9. In their minds, they are smart...

We're stupid. End of argument.

[mountain grammy]

10. K & R because "if you're not rich, blame yourself" and all the other lies that suck the middle class

into voting GOP because they've convinced themselves that everyone on government assistance is somehow ripping them off. I hear it all the time from fools who are hanging on by a thread thanks to GOP policies.