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Who Are The 1%?
It seems a significant pillar of the Occupy Wall Street (and offshoot) movements seems to be based on the fact, er "fact" that the "top 1%" (of earners) are running the world for their benefit only, necessarily to the detriment of the "99%." Many of these 99%'ers seem to think the majority of the 1% are Financiers of one stripe or another, as that is where much of their anger is focused. I think the below chart from Mother Jones (along with source data) would surprise almost everyone, whether in the 99% or 1%:
Mother Jones has a variety of other charts compiled from University studies that I think, were they to be widely read by many protesters, would force them to re-evaluate some of their most closely-held beliefs. Unfortunately, thus far all of my efforts to educate and inform those supporting OWS have largely fallen on deaf ears; not just deaf ears, but ears covered by a $450 Dre Beats headphones, unwilling to be taken off.
*This is not to ignore the fact that those at the very top of the Finance game are making more money now than ever before, and have been increasingly so over the past ~25 years. That is a topic to be addressed, in depth, another time.
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Ummm, if Broken_Trades (comment above) is correct, then the following would be the BS in your article.
Care to elaborate on his comment?
Broken_Trades
"Your article is misleading.
The top 1% of "Wealth" does not belong to the people who report the top 1% of income to the IRS.
There isn't even a section on that chart for investment income or independent wealth. Are you really trying to tell us that the top 1% of wealth belongs to people that have to work for a living?
C'mon"
Stone, post all the misleading bullshit stories you want. It will do you no good. The 99% are awakening now. Regardless of your misdirection and,drivel, they are probably going to be coming for you. Until then, please, stfu.
Oh, we're coming for him Chuck. Some folks go through life predominantly trying to be honest and fair and generally nice to other folks. Some folks go through life predominantly being greedy self-serving dicks. Most of the time, the dicks run the show. And the nicer folks put up with it for a time because it is in their nature to be, well, nice. This encourages the dicks to push their dickishness further and further. Then, one day, some of the nice folks snap. And they start hunting down dicks and cutting their fucking heads off. And for a little while at least, being a greedy self-serving dick is not such an effective survival strategy. So it was, so it is, and so it shall ever be.
Talk it out with your therapist and have mommy hide all the sharp things.
+1
some primary source citations might be nice e.g. ( study __ page __ table ___ etc) along with relevant description of the data presented e.g. year, source etc. geographic region as in you seem to be mixing American data with generalized global statements.)
your summary of the "significant pillar" of #OWS is based on what?
(the point is that to take up valuable ZH real estate by cutting and pasting some stuff from MoFo Jones and then slapping on an ill thought out comment is a waste of the readers' time, at least this reader's time and intellectually lazy)
Yes, people who work for the living are not the rich and powerful types that run the world. It's the owners that run everything and take the time to tinker with society.
And let's not get too technical here. The sentiment is the same and it doesn't change the argument at all if it's the top 0.5%. If anything, it strengthens the argument.
According to the list I'm part of the 31%. (evil laugh)
Just wish I made more than $60k per year though, it would make it easier to 'buy' and 'control' the asshole politicians we have.
Well, the correct people to go after are the .1%. Re calculate the numbers at that level and I think you'll find the OVERWHELMING majority of people in that list are financiers.
Incorrect, at least with recent data available (2005).
Here's the top 0.1% by occupation:
Executives, managers, supervisors (non-finance): 42.5%
Financial professions, including management: 18%
Lawyers: 7.3%
Medical: 5.9%
the rest is spread among a number of careers.
Source: Jobs and Income Growth of Top Earners and the Causes of Changing Income
Inequality: Evidence from U.S. Tax Return Data (Bakija, Cole, Heim, 2010)
The correct "persons" are the 25 global banks
Make their tentacles illegal (again), start with the CDS
Top 1% of what exactly? Salary? Income? Wealth?
Stoner is an idiot. He doesn't even understand the question or the difference.
If this jackass somehow thinks these ridiculous blogposts are recruiting clients, geez...
Uh,
Stoner, are you actually paying the Tylers to post here? so we can kick your ass?
You think i'm posting here - about things completely unrelated to what my firm does - to recruit clients? Oye...
I know the 99% are goyim.
fucking jugalo.
if you were seriously a violent threat to the movement , or anyone actually thought your racism would motivate you to do anything besides sit on the couch, you probably would have one of your kids or relatives off you like jeff hall. keep it on the couch buddy.
get off the couch at your own risk.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/us/11nazi.html?pagewanted=all
Hmmm... well.. would you look at that..
http://www.crownheights.info/index.php?itemid=29404
Looks like racists on both sides.. Who would have thunk it??
umm... thats the wrong 1%
what 1% is the right one?
The plutarchy - those in a position of influencial and indirect power that are able to sway the political and legislative direction, through the use of wealth, that benefits and maintain's said influence and indirect power, while willfully breaking the laws of the land at the expense of the common man and thus, the nation.
Most of the posts here are pure BS. It has gone from the 1% to the 1% of the 1%, or to an imaginary “secretive” 1%.
The real point is that we should be working to take down the corrupt political class and the central bankers that keep them in power.
Let’s not get sidetracked by left wing politics of envy.
You had my attention and then you went all partisan on that ass.
It's not envy, it's being sick of being dominated and it's not a left/right thing. Some of us are just tired of endless control mechanisms being put on our lives and we are across the political spectrum and not some made up dialectical left/right bullshit. Wake up.
So these people are who, besides liberal rhetoric? Just rich people in general? Is that what you're getting at? Everyone with money uses it for nefarious means?
No. Rich and poor has very little to do with it, and your attempts to make it a central theme will do you no favors as things play out. Think of the public perceptions of Steve Jobs versus, say, Tony Hayward.
If you don't like blanket condemnation why repeat the error by making a blanket pardon of the rich? Perhaps some folks are operating in ways meant to ultimately control their fellow human beings and others aren't. Really it's not the top 1% anyways, its more like the top 0.001% a few thousand families, many of whom have dominated finance and industry for many generations. But anyways please continue with divisive chatter that labels things liberal vs. conservative so we can continue to accelerate towards the cliff while arguing about what sort of tires we need for our "journey".
how would you classify BG : Manager or techy?
WB : Retired, manager or financial
Joe Mendoza : Entrepreneur, drug dealer (skilled sales) or medic?
Here's what one 1% member thinks about WS and taxing them :
MARK CUBAN: "Tax The Hell Out Of Wall Street And Give It To Main Street"
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-cuban-tax-the-hell-out-of-wall-street-and-give-it-to-main-street-and-other-advice-for-the-protesters-2011-10#ixzz1as6Ynrbs
The original article was on a site i subscribe to and i was going to paste it on zh.
i thought thats all it was worthy of really.
http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/10/one-percent-income-inequality-OWS
hey falak, what did u think of the shit rugby?
the worst semi-final I have ever seen the french play! Pity the welsh were 14, they deserved to win!
Well c'est la vie! Now NZ will teach France what running rugby is about. I hope they remember that once upon a time there was a thing called 'french flair'!
I appreciate your effort, but it is not the top 1% of earners. It is the top 1% of OWNERS. The top 1% of earners are the guys (and gals) that are too stupid or honest to write off all their income.
The top 1% of OWNERS is Aa completely different list, and they are the ones who are making money off of our backs.
+1 sleepingbeauty
The kleptocracy is the issue. This 1%/99% is just a rally cry (I suppose). Not a bad one, as it does signify the imbalance, but it isn't necessarily accurate nor some sort of definitive identification of those causal to the mess which we are witness.
the rent collectors.
you sound awake.
The widening gap in GPD vs Income is where the real problem exists – and how the top 1% (theoretical #) shelter reported incomes. Each is guilty - the fuel is technology and our demand sided economy. The vehicle used to widen the gap is i) the Federal Reserve system (supplying top down liquidity), ii) the fractional reserve lending system (supplying exponential debt), and iii) special interest (destroying the republic). Given the paradox of technolgical improvement, that really do better our lives, the solution is to end i , ii , iii and use a dividend system that keeps pace with the tech driven displacement rate, as a vehicle.
These are the top 1% of American taxpayers. I believe our gripe is with the top 0.1% of wealth owners worldwide. Nice try at framing the issue. In brief we want to end the FED, end corporate personhood, and end the wars.
I'll reply to the headphone comment in the spirit it was made: fuck you, too.
Most owners are smart enough to abstract their wealth via trusts or company structures.
Steve Jobs earned $1 a year.
So I guess this means we won't be hearing anyone gripe about bankster bonuses (income) anymore, since it's only their accumulated wealth that matters???
btw, why is it whenever liberal politicians complain about "millionaires and billionaires" they always claim the fix is to raise income tax rates? Other than an estate tax, I haven't heard any Democrats propose a "wealth tax" yet...
During his last campaign for the Dem. Presidential nomination, EUGENE MCCARTHY did, in fact, call for "A tax on wealth." The intention was to soak the truly rich sufficiently to pay off the then-national debt (about 3.5 trillion at the time, as I recall).
I believe that was in 1992.
Needless to say, he didn't get a lot of traction in the MSM.
Right because just like Republicans, the Democrats are owned by the top 0.01%. Partisanship? Really?!
Did I say I was a Republican?
Frankly, I don't see a dimes worth of difference between the two parties; a plague on both their houses.
However, its the hypocritical Democrats claiming they're for 'the little guy' who are among the worst offenders in the graft and corruption department...
All politicians lie, OK.
Here's another "gripe": the top 0.1% own all the politicians and in order to have a democracy or a republic that has to end.