I don’t know what the problem is with Barack Obama’s “spread the wealth” statements. The Republicans are using his words in an attempt to scare middle and working America into thinking it’s THEY who are going to have their wealth redistributed, hence the unfoundered fears of “Joe” the “plumber” who earns far less than the level at which a new Democratic President would start taxing people at a higher rate. According to the 2007 Consensus figures barely 2% of American households earn over $250,000.
To get a more accurate view of wealth distribution in America just see what Edward Wolff, Professor of Economics at New York University has to say about wealth distribution in a 2003 interview for Multinational Monitor.
In the United States, in the last survey year, 1998, the richest 1 percent of households owned 38 percent of all wealth
These figures may be a little old now but in the same interview Wolff states that, up until 2003, the wealth divide had widened since the mid 1970s; what are the chances that Bush has done anything to narrow that gap?
To further expand upon this figure Wolff continues:
The top 5 percent own more than half of all wealth.
In 1998, they owned 59% of all wealth. Or to put it another way, the top 5% had more wealth than the remaining 95%t of the population, collectively.
The top 20% owns over 80% of all wealth. In 1998, it owned 83% of all wealth.
This is a very concentrated distribution.
So for any Republicans who keep banging on about spreading the wealth as if it were a bad thing, realise that by believing this blatant propaganda and acting as John McCain seems to want you to, you’d actually be protecting the very rich. Tell me, half of America that would vote Republican, you’re 50% of the population, do you really think that spreading the wealth is not in your favour?
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