The Falling Fortunes of the One Percent

The Congressional Budget Office has come up with some bedazzling figures that suggest that the 1% rich are actually getting hammered by lower income !!!

Between 2007 and 2009, they have actually been hit by a 37% decrease in "after tax" income.

Hmmm.

CNBC article -- July 20, 2012

The presidential election has given us two myths about the rich. First, that their incomes, and income inequality, are at all-time highs. Second, that the wealthy pay less in taxes than ever, and lower taxes than the rest of us.

A recent report from the Congressional Budget Office, however, suggests that both may be false.

Let’s consider income first. Between 2007 and 2009, after-tax earnings by Americans in the top one percent for income fell 37 percent. On a pre-tax basis they fell 36 percent in the same period. ...[continues]

Interesting too....

That may sound like a minor haircut for One Percenters compared to people who lost their jobs. But when you take into account federal transfers, assistance and taxes paid, the incomes of the bottom 20 percent grew by 3 percent, while it fell a modest 2 percent for the middle 20 percent.

In other words, the incomes of the top one percent fell 18 times more than the incomes for the middle class at the start of the recession.

graphs & pie charts included;
The Falling Fortunes of the One Percent

So the rich lost more income and paid more of their money in taxes than the rest of the population.

Or they had just moved their money out of the United States... You know, to somewhere like the Cayman Islands and it just seemed like they "lost" money to those keeping records here.

I am comfortable in saying that the numbers, percentages and amounts are nothing more than the 1%er's ANNOUNCED amounts.

Their big money, their safe money, the money that no one but them ever knows about is being held nice and safe overseas.

Reading this has melted my heart of stone. Is there some way we can start some kind of telethon or a benefit to help these poor people out? Tears are forming in my eyes thinking these people won't be able to afford that second mansion in the Hampton's they have had their eye on.

What happened three years ago really isn't going to bother people now. When they have to decide between food or medicine for their child is when people start to care.

Yes, that 'poor' 1% of wealthy individuals, only taking in 16% of all the nations income. Of course, the folks in the top 5% (which is including the top 1%) are taking in over 51% of all the income so...there's no problem there, right?

What kind of graph shows 51.6% as taking up less than 40% of the graph. I'm talking about that first 'Share of Income' pie graph. Stupid.

And taxes paid? Despite the oft-repeated fact that tax rates for the wealthy are at an all-time low (which is true), it’s also true that the actual amount paid in taxes by the wealthy is higher than before the recession.

Imagine, 28% of $1 million is a higher amount than 28% of $100,000! Basic mathematics astound me too sometimes. Obviously we should lower those tax rates immediately to aid in the potential of those job creators.

reply to post by xuenchen


It has been turned into precious metals and is stacked in the bunkers.

Originally posted by buster2010
Reading this has melted my heart of stone. Is there some way we can start some kind of telethon or a benefit to help these poor people out? Tears are forming in my eyes thinking these people won't be able to afford that second mansion in the Hampton's they have had their eye on.

What happened three years ago really isn't going to bother people now. When they have to decide between food or medicine for their child is when people start to care.

I agree. I'm going to skip feeding my kid this month so I can help those violently wealthy people get some of their wealth back. I mean, if a man can only afford six sports cars instead of ten, how the hell is he gonna create more jobs?

Better yet, maybe we should have a cash-for-clunkers program but have it all go to subsidize their purchases of more exotic cars! Obscene displays of wealth builds jobs faster than anything!

reply to post by xuenchen


For the last time:




Printing Money = More Votes

Half of American households own less than 1% of the wealth.

But what is that, compared to the wealthiest 1% who are seeing a tiny dip in their fortunes?

Now, if we can get the 50% of American households down to 0% of the wealth, I bet that would be just fine with the One-percenters.

reply to post by xuenchen


What I would like to know is who this "1%" represents. Are they millionaires? Lolno. Billionaires? Getting closer, I think, but not even billionaires could be the very top 1%. Do they even count trillionaires? Maybe not belonging to just one person sure, but accumulated over time generation after generation holding the fortune within a family?

Like I don't know, the Rothschilds?

If they get hammered and everyone else gets hammered then the ratio is still the same... I doubt they are getting hammered quite as much though.

Then again, our lifestyles really aren't that different. Average joe has it pretty damned good.... I swear if I hear another baby boomer complaining about the cost of an MRI while plotting to by an RV or something....