IRS Report Shows the Worst U.S. Income Inequality on Record

[whistle]

...The wealthiest 1% of Americans earned 21.2% of all income in 2005, according to the IRS - a record beating even the dot.com bubble days of the 90s. It was "only" 19% in 2004, and beats the 20.8% of 2000. The entire bottom half (bottom 50%) of the population earned only 12.8% of all income, down from 13.4% in 2004 . The IRS says this income disparity was last seen in the 1920's, although they don't have precise records for that era.

<snip>
Income Inequality Hits Post-WWII Record
The Skinny: Richest 1 Percent Of Americans Taking Home Almost A Quarter Of The Pie
NEW YORK, Oct. 12, 2007

You know America's embarrassingly little income inequality problem has gotten bad when even President Bush is blushing.

New IRS figures out today reveal that the wealthiest 1 percent of Americas earned 21.2 percent of all income in 2005, the Wall Street Journal reports. That's up sharply from 19 percent in 2004, and surpasss the previous high of 20.8 percent in 2000, at the beak of the previous bull market in stocks.

The IRS only started keeping these kinds of figures, which include capital gains, in 1986, so there's some guessing involved. But academics say the rich haven't gotten such a big slice of the pie since the Roaring '20s.

Meanwhile, the median tax filer's income fell 2 percent between 2000 and 2005, to $30,881. Median, of course, means half of Americans earn less than that.

In an exclusive interview, the paper grilled the President over these numbers.

"Do I think some of the salaries are excessive at the top? I do," Bush said. "I don't think it's the role of the government to regulate salary. But I do believe it's a role of boards of directors to be very transparent with shareholders about these different packages, the employment packages that these executives get."
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http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/12/the_skinny/main3360511.shtml

[Zywiec]

1. Income Inequality Hits Post-WWII Record

Worst on record is a little misleading in the title. Why not just use the original CBS story title?

[kestrel91316]

2. The Gilded Age redux.

[ThomCat]

8. Absolutely. And that's the way a lot of people want it.

I think even many of the democrats higher up in our party feel that way. There seems to be a sense of being elite, and deserving more, even at the expense of all the rest of us.
x(

[prolesunited]

3. They're almost there

They really want to go back to the 1800s when the robber barons ruled. As soon as they dismantle Social Security, finish destroying public education, and deal they final blow to unions, their plans will be complete.

[DaveJ]

4. Median income goes down as prices go up

The income gap alone would not necessarily be a dangerous things, but this is a worse sign:

"Meanwhile, the median tax filer's income fell 2 percent between 2000 and 2005, to $30,881. Median, of course, means half of Americans earn less than that."

Yet Cons say everything is fine, since they have plenty of wage slaves.

[Roland99]

5. To the Greatest page for this disparaging news.

[malaise]

6. Neoliberal economics gone mad

K & R

[Megahurtz]

7. Wow. I Knew It Was Bad

but didn't know it was (IS!) this bad and here's the confirmation.

But will anyone that can do anything about it listen? :shrug:

[Selatius]

9. Hopefully, a positive consequence of this is rising worker rage, which translates into more unions

When workers are disempowered and feel disempowered and, most importantly, start feeling desperate, the workers are ripe for recruitment for unionists and socialists and social democrats who carry forward a message of change and hope.