The US Economy since World War 2, plotted

Over the last few weeks we've had a lot of discussion about OWS, from vibrant support to angry opposition. One of the most persistent claims from those in opposition is "I don't even know what they're protesting. They don't even know what they're protesting!" There have been plenty of statements about "class warfare" and - my personal favorite - "persecution" of the wealthy.

In the hopes of helping everyone understand where the protest is coming from, what the "issue" is, I'm going to present you all with a graphic demonstration.


Source







Source

Stagnation of worker wages, increased productivity in the workplace going solely to the top (At a $1,723 : 1 ratio, no less!), an actual regression of income at the bottom, while a steady supply of tax cuts have ensured that the top 400 taxpayers pay less in total taxes than I do! Meanwhile we see that the interests of business are well-lubricated in the halls of government, leading to those who govern us happily handing our tax dollars over to these companies - to become pure profit for those who ran their own business into the ground.

Is anyone here still confused about what the protests are about? Anyone still going "just shut up, everything's fine!" Does anyone else want to complain about protests slowing traffic - because your boss will fire you if you're five minutes late (what a swell guy, with how he lets you work for him, right?)

And for those of you who want to just respond with your usual eye-rolling and arm-waving with cries of "socialism!" and "marxism!" and whatever else... yeah, sure, go for it; I can take it.

Thanks for all these graphs, they're really easy to understand.

I don't care what your political beliefs are, obviously the rich are getting richer while everyone else is getting poorer. If you think that's not a problem, then what is?