Shocking Fact About Rich Americans

[zeos3]

Run time: 04:49 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S49UIeDLqC0   Posted on YouTube: July 13, 2011 By YouTube Member: TheYoungTurks Views on YouTube: 302   Posted on DU: July 13, 2011 By DU Member: zeos3 Views on DU: 6886

 
According to David Stockman, former budget director for Ronald Reagan:

"In 1985, the top 5% of the households, the wealthiest 5%, had net worth of $8 Trillion, which is a lot. Today after serial bubble after serial bubble, the top 5% have net worth of $40 Trillion. The top 5% have gained more wealth than the whole human race had created prior to 1980."

[checks-n-balances]

1. That quote's a keeper!

[Newest Reality]

2. So, is all the corporatist media

and the political system with all its acrobatics and Dungeons & Dragons battles becoming a bit more transparent for everyone, now?

Just how did the transfer of wealth happen and why are we, (with all the trillions in wealth there is) getting hit over the head with cuts and austerity? Why are the buzzwords like "shared sacrifice" being rammed down our throats?

Well, they will sacrifice us to their god of profit while we apathetically sacrifice everything we might have left and any future other than indentured servitude, (should we survive), that's for sure. So, in that case, it is kind of shared.

Working for you?

[tclambert]

19. "Shared sacrifice?" When bosses talk about sacrifice, or being a "team player," it's the workers who

always have to make the sacrifice. "Taking a hit," and "tightening our belts" are also warning signs that they are about to ask YOU to throw yourself on a live grenade in order to save THEIR stock options. And if they start talking about breaking eggs to make omelets, run for it!

[ihavenobias]

3. FYI, Cenk is on vacation until Monday...

These are two guest hosts I booked (I've been a fan of Jimmy Dore for some time, he's a great political comedian). Here's the official video description:

Former budget director for president Ronald Reagan David Stockman shared a stunning fact about wealth accumulation in a 60 Minutes interview with Leslie Stahl. Comedian Jimmy Dore and Frank Conniff (Mystery Science Theater 3000) discuss.

[zeos3]

6. Nice job. Jimmy and Frank are doing great. n/t

[Hissyspit]

13. Coincidentally, I'm on vacation until Monday, too.

Not that anyone would notice, but...! :D

Tickets to Harry Potter guy in "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying." Couldn't get "Book of Mormon." :(

[Divine Discontent]

15. On vacation from what?

:rofl:

are you kid'n? On a board of thousands, you post 5% of the top threads on here, which means you have accumulated more top threads than the entire history of Greatest threads... you rich bastard.

I say we put a tax on Hissyspit for being a freaking usurper of awesome-threads - he should have to pay for being so recognizably awesome all the time, it's just not fair to the rest of us.


(this place would be sorely lacking if you left, good sir... enjoy your time off)

:hug:

[Divine Discontent]

16. my friend said that tix for BOM are super challenging to acquire. I am a big fan of their

music from the movie they made years back, and although the show is a bit raunchy at times (at times he says!) it can be undeniably biting and spot on! I hope you enjoy the other show you do get to see.

[bulloney]

18. If that stat doesn't expose the fallacy of trickle-down economics, nothing will.

The richest 5% have accumulated more wealth in the last 30 years than all of the wealth created before 1980.

If trickle down works, we would see more wealth spread around and people wouldn't need multiple jobs just to survive--if they can find work at all. Meanwhile the disparity between CEOs and the laborers working for them widens exponentially.

But you still have the kool aid crowd who will beligerently argue that we must continue this path that's destroying our country's fiber even though they've been screwed by that system.

[zeos3]

33. Amen to that comment. n/t

[amyrose2712]

29. Thanks. I was just wondering where Cenk has been.

My mother has been missing him. I think she has a little Cenk-crush!

[bahrbearian]

30. Thanks for the Info , I was just going to do a search,, What about his MSNBC show?

[fascisthunter]

4. and yet, the sick bastards think they should have it all

[A Simple Game]

5. Is it safe to assume he meant the top 5% in the USA or did he mean in the world? n/t

[zeos3]

7. I'm assuming he meant the US.

He was also talking about households. That also makes a difference.

I did a quick search and found that last year's Forbes 400 list of richest individuals had a combined net worth of $1.37 Trillion. That's a long way off from the total he gave but keep in mind the Forbes list represents .00012% of the US population.

[A Simple Game]

11. Thanks, not that it really matters, world or USA, the disparity is way too high. n/t

[WhoIsNumberNone]

27. Outside the USA rich people still have to pay taxes

[uberllama42]

8. What was that gibberish at the end about Libya?

Each plane costs how much?

[Hissyspit]

14. This may help:

An F-15 is $32 million loss if it crashes, if I'm not mistaken.

This is from March: Cost of Libya intervention for U.S. may exceed $1 billion.

http://www.newsytype.com/5055-cost-of-libya-war-mission-creep

How cost of Libya war adds up

On its first day, costs for Operation Odyssey Dawn passed $100 million just in cruise missiles. By the fourth day, the U.N. coalition had launched at least 162 Tomahawk missiles priced between $1 million to $1.5 million each. Three B-2 stealth bombers are flying from Missouri on a 25-hour round trip costing $10,000 an hour to drop 45 2,000 pound bombs known as Joint Direct Attack Munitions costing up to $40,000 each. The B-2 stealth bombers require air tanker support on the flight and the pilots collect combat pay. It costs about $10,000 an hour to fly a full contingent of U.S. fighter jets, of which one crashed at a cost of about $75 million to replace. Meanwhile, 11 U.S. Navy vessels including two amphibious assault ships, two destroyers and three submarines are cruising off the Libyan coast to support the mission.

Yes, they should have grabbed some facts off the Internet first before doing the commentary, but it might have been a point that just occurred to them as they were talking. Their point is valid. We are being conned.

[uberllama42]

25. Informative. Thank you.

If I were Cenk, I would tell my guest hosts to try to be a little more disciplined with comments like that. Cenk doesn't usually spout off with "each one of those planes costs more than Medicare," or nonsense of that caliber.

[20score]

9. Great clip! Saving.

[Esra Star]

10. I too am antitattite. .nt

[Esra Star]

32. This was confusing.....sorry

I replied to a different video. It can happen.
I think this "new tattoo" idea is interesting.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iX3yX7pHII

[zeos3]

34. Thanks for the clarification...

...I thought it was my poor vocabulary.

:toast:

[blank space]

12. Get this thing on your face book page -

Get it on twitter, get it on the news, this is the sort of thing that will cause change.

Unlike Barrack.

[LittleGirl]

21. Posted on FB.

and Barack is spelled with one r.

[slay]

17. K&R

that is seriously fucked up. why don't the Dems talk about this?!?!?

[AlbertCat]

20. why don't the Dems talk about this?!?!?

Because they're all wealthy.

You have to be to run for even state office.

Getting the money out of elections would be a great thing!

[FourScore]

22. k/r

[reformist2]

23. Which is why we need a wealth tax, not just higher income taxes.

Something to work on in the long term.

[zeos3]

35. Agreed.

In the meantime, let's make sure they don't get rid of the estate tax.

[reformist2]

24. Also, it puts to bed the preposterous GOP lie that "we're broke."

[zeos3]

36. Yes it does.

"we're broke." Except for the billionaires and the banks and corporations that are hoarding cash in the trillions.

[Quixote1818]

26. Was this just on 60 minutes or is this old? I can't find it on their website. nt

[zeos3]

37. I'm not sure...

I don't know how old the 60 Minutes clip is. I found it while going through recent episodes of The Young Turks on Youtube.

[midnight]

28. Is the Reagan Democratic President we have in office ok with this?

He protects these 5% and tells the rest of us to eat peas....

[Blue Owl]

31. These are Boehner's & McConnell's "average Americans"

How ridiculously out-of-touch they are with the REAL average American.