income inequality

Newest Oxfam Report: The richest make $500,000-per-minute

Just before the annual gathering of the global elites last January (at the Swiss mountain resort of Davos), the anti-poverty charity Oxfam released an eye-opening report that showed the world’s 85 richest billionaires hold as much wealth as 3.5 billion of humanity’s poorest half. That shocking statistic quickly went globally viral. Now there's a new report.

Graphing American Wage Statistics Is Not a Pretty Picture

The rich get richer and income inequality in America continues to grow in 2013.  The wage situation improved from 2012, but it's still pretty bad.  The median wage was $28,031.02 in 2013 a paltry 1.9% increase from 2012.  While the ratio of median wage to average wage improved, the 110 super rich are now earning 2595 times more than average workers.

The Ugly Face of Shareholder Value Exposed By Inversions

Something strange is happening to familiar American companies:  Burger King has become Canadian, Pfizer seems to be trying to be British, and Walgreens has backed away from becoming Swiss only because of the outcry over their plan for a new nationality.  Seeing what our companies are willing to do to escape paying income tax, people are beginning to wonder about how American our American companies are.

 

American Exceptionalism is Dead

Having the mightiest military, more powerful than the world has ever seen, doesn't make America exceptional. An ever expanding middle-class, equal opportunity for all, fairness in the political process and worker's rights was what had also made America exceptional since World War II—when the rising tide of capitalism had once lifted all boats. Now it just lifts the biggest yachts.

Worker Wage Inequality Myth Exposed

In America today there is a crisis.  That crisis is economic inequality.  The U.S. workforce has been blamed and dismissed for the growing gap between rich and poor.  Much effort has gone into blaming the victim.  Americans have been called fat, lazy and stupid along with the never ending drumbeat claim U.S. workers are uneducated and do not have enough technological skills.

Income and Poverty Report Paints a Not So Pretty Picture

Did you know 15% of America lives in poverty and that income for households after adjusting for inflation has declined by 8.3% since 2007?  That America is making 9% less in real dollars than in 1999?  The latest annual Census report for 2012 shows America is still broken and poor.

Friday Movie Night - Income Inequality

The story which should be front page news but is not is income inequality.  U.C. Berkeley professor, Emmaneul Saez studies income inequality and has recently updated his research with 2012 figures and the results are astounding.  The top 1% breaking records for grabbing America's income gains should be what's blaring across the headlines.

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