No average income gain during Bush years

[Dennis S]

billb wrote:
If youlooka little further than the end of your stiffy, they've been losing ground since the last recession in 1982.

Yes, I know. Thank you, Ronald Reagan.

[Mac1337]

Ted King wrote:
The top 10% income earners in the US stayed relatively flat at having about 30% to 35% of the total income earned in the US since WWII to the 1980's. In the 1980's the top 10% income earners share of the total income rose to about 40%. During Clinton's years (most of the 1990's) their share rose to about 45% (on average - it was kind of erratic). Since the turn of the century the top 10% income earners now have 50% of all the income earned in the US.* IOW, it doesn't seem like it mattered whether it was a Republican or a Democrat as President, since the early 80's the wealthiest people kept getting more and more of all the wealth created by the country. What it means is that all the gains that have come from increases in productivity have all gone to the wealthiest people in the country. What BushII did manage to do, though, was decrease the tax rate on the wealthiest people so that even as they were taking up all that increase in wealth, they paid proportionately less and less taxes. And our national debt went up by trillions of dollars as a result under BushII.

*This comes from an Excel file posted at this site:

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/20...ost-decade

The top 1% of income earners pay 40% of the tax bill allowing half the population go on a free ride. Somehow I missed that in your post.

[MacGurl]

So which half are you Dakota?

[Mac1337]

Judging by what I have left in my wallet right at this time it is not hard to guess.

[MacGurl]

So, are you just angry that you're not getting your free stuff?

[OWC Jamie]

Dennis S wrote:
[quote=billb]
If youlooka little further than the end of your stiffy, they've been losing ground since the last recession in 1982.

Yes, I know. Thank you, Ronald Reagan.
At least he was able to fix Jimmy Carter's mess.
Not all of it though . The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 and the sub-prime mortgage loan problem didn't bite everyone in the ass untill about 2008.
That festering cancer finally burst.

[Dennis S]

It's not hard to fix a mess when you run up a 2 TRILLION dollar debt.

[Ted King]

Dakota wrote:


The top 1% of income earners pay 40% of the tax bill allowing half the population go on a free ride. Somehow I missed that in your post.

Well, two things. One is that the unstated assumption of your point is that the top 1% merited getting so much of the countries wealth (re: "half the population go on a free ride" ). That is the myth of meritocracy. Second, what you said isn't directly relevant to the issue of everyone else's income having stayed flat since the '80s while and the highest 10% increased their income from 35% of the total income to 50% of the total income - that is, the wealthiest 10% have taken ALL of the increased wealth due to productivity increases during that time. Do you really think that the increased productivity that led to increased income was brought into being exclusively by the efforts of the top 10% income earners and therefore they deserved to get all of the gains in wealth due to that increase in productivity?

Incidentally, my wife and I make enough income to be in the top 10% of household incomes, so it's not envy that motivates me to make these points.

[RgrF]

Doc wrote:
[quote=Dennis S]
A lot of groceries doubled under Bush, but the "official" inflation rate was low.

Drop every meaningful measure and you can prove the earth is flat, too.
There are NO meaningful measures. Every administration regardless of political leaning keeps moving the goalposts. There can be no consistency of measurement when they are allowed to redefine parameters at will.

[Mac1337]

I don't know where you pick up the language you are using. " the wealthiest 10% have taken ALL of the increased wealth". Taken? Please show me a way so I can "take" some wealth tomorrow? I need it bad. Haven't you made money in your life. How do you feel if I say you have "taken" the money from some poor sap? There are countries in this world with no millionaires. I assure you those missing millions did not end up in other people's pockets. Since you are counting yourself in that top 10% of thieves why aren't you one of them? So let me ask you point blank. Are you a thief?