How Sharply Is The Income For The Top 1% Of U.S. Households Rising?

According to the bipartisan Congressional Budget Office, between 1979 and 2007, adjusted for inflation, income for the top 1% jumped nearly 400%. By comparison, they report the income of the middle 60% of Americans rose by just over 33 1/3%.

A big part of the sharp rise in income for the top 1%, the financiers and corporate titans, came from working class Americans becoming far more productive. How? Profits rose sharply which has meant big bonuses and dividends for the richest Americans. Why haven't workers gained more benefits from their increased productivity? Competition for their services. More workers are flooding into the U.S. workforce and most production has been shifted overseas to press wages down in America and to increase profits in general.

Under these circumstances, how has Middle Class America sustained its prosperity? It's an illusion. They did something that was uncommon in the 1970's and before, they began using credit cards en mass. If you can't afford something you need or want, put it on your credit card. Of course all those interest charges meant bigger profits to corporate giants and bigger payouts to their leaders, as the rich got richer. That vicious circle compounded until now, with Americans buried in debt.

What happens next? The discussion between the President and Congress and Republicans and Democrats has been about protecting tax benefits for the top 1% and continuing some tax benefits for the Middle Class why slashing vital services the Middle Class depends on. Not a word about slashing the military industrial complex because at taxpayer expense, they provide millions of jobs and huge corporate profits. As is apparent, we have an untenable situation and some tough decisions will have to be made but those will be postponed as long as America can keep borrowing money to pay its bills.

Dick
To learn more, please see "Presidential campaign needs to get real on salvaging middle class," by  Los Angeles Time Pulitizer Prize winning writer Michael Hiltzik http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hiltzik-20120101,0,180296.column