Wealth Distribution
Wealth distribution in the United States in the second quarter of 2024.
Total Wealth = $160 trillion
Breakdown, who has how much.
Data Source. (found by ChatGPT)
The graph shows that people near:
- the bottom 10% have almost nothing
- the bottom 25% have $20 thousand
- 50% have $160 thousand
- the upper 75% have have $500 thousand
- the upper 90% have $1.6 million
- the upper 95% have $3,6 million
- the upper 99% have over $10 million
It doesn’t show that
- the top 0.1% average $64 million
- 737 billionaires average $7.2 billion
For all but the very wealthy, the American Dream is now an impossibility.
A nation where half the people
have 2.5% of the wealth is
not
of the people, by the people,and for the people
……………………………………..
The people got hit by a double whammy!
1.) Since around 1970 the income of the bottom 10% of wage earners has only risen about 26% while the income of the top 0.1% has grown by 160%. (As shown in FIGURE A.)To a large extent that was due to the intentional erosion of policies that had protected workers throughout most of the 20th century.
2.) Then, starting in 1982, the Reagan/Bush/Trump tax cuts for the rich let the rich and powerful keep a whole lot more of their huge incomes.
As a result, the government has diverted $50 trillion from the working class to the rich.
French economist Thomas Piketty, advocates highly progressive income taxes, like what we had until the beginning of trickle down, and inheritance taxes in order “to reduce inequality and prevent the concentration of wealth from destabilizing society.”
The Big Picture
Household Net Worth = $160 trillion
National Debt = $36 trillion
Annual National Budget = $6.8 trillion
Gross National Product = $27.9 trillion
Discussion
- By itself, trickle down would make the wealth gap worse. Trump’s tariffs and trade war will just accelerate the process.
- In order to prevent the income gap from getting worse, the protections for working class wealth and small businesses need to be enforced again.
We the people can make it happen.
All we have to do is ask our Congress members, by the millions.
If they don’t act, we can make sure their replacements will.
Messages for Congress:
- Restore the pre-Reagan, highly progressive tax structure.
- Enforce the 20th century protections for working class wealth and small businesses.
After trickle-down ends, the government will be able to
- end deficit spending.
- buy down the debt.
- improve benefits for the people.
- fight climate change, create millions of good jobs, grow the GDP, and improve world trade.
Let’s make it happen!
Please copy an email, personalize it if you like and widely send it out.
We have to do is ask our Congress members, by the millions.
If they don’t act, we can make sure their replacements will.
If we end trickle down, we can afford to pay off the debt, fight climate change, fund the government; invest in higher education, accessible first class health care, infrastructure, and badly needed social programs.
Let’s Do It!
Back to End Trickle Down
Back to Trade War
Back to Home