The top 1% have a combined wealth greater than the GDP of Japan, Germany, France and the UK COMBINED

[Bozita]

ABC Nightline tonight.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=4872105&page=1

As many Americans watch personal investments like their homes go belly up, many of the super rich have seen their fortunes grow.

"The median income in America is still around $48,000, and that's been flat for about the last 10 years," said Frank. "Meanwhile, the top 1 percent of Americans control 33 percent of the wealth. That top 1 percent owns $17 trillion in wealth, which for perspective, is greater than the GDPs of Japan, Germany, the U.K. and France combined."

Even the top 1 percent's dogs live well. Parmar's five purebreds are fed chicken and steak.

"I think it comes down to fundamentals of how I invest," Parmar said. "I didn't go rob a bank."

But even Warren Buffett -- the world's richest man whose estimated wealth hovers around $60 billion -- worries about the burgeoning wealth gap.

more...

[Selatius]

1. Warren Buffett is smart. He doesn't want this happening to him.

That's what happens when you stomp on peasants and poor people for too long and eat well, while everybody else starves. "Let them eat cake" indeed.

[Glorfindel]

3. I hope - fervently HOPE - that somewhere blades are being sharpened

that torches and pitchforks are being readied, and that the oppressed people, in their righteous anger, are preparing to rise up and reclaim their rights from the parasitic super-rich. I don't expect to live long enough to see it, but please, God, let the day come sooner rather than later. Where is Thomas Jefferson when we need him?

[Zynx]

9. The French Revolution did not exactly end up being a boon to peasants.

[TheWatcher]

11. And laying down and dying for these monsters won't either.

[nichomachus]

18. Well, it did get end the dominance of religion in public life -- that was a good thing

[Zynx]

22. I think the price was much higher than the benefit in that regard.

I would say France went another century before having good government.

[nichomachus]

23. How long would they have gone

without good government had the revolution not taken place?

[Zynx]

24. I take a deontological approach rather than a utilitarian one with regards to the FR.

I don't view the actions and consequences as a necessary evil to do in the Bourbon monarchy. I think the excesses were beyond anything remotely necessary so as to make virtually the entire period a total waste.

[nichomachus]

26. You could also justify it on deontological grounds

[blindpig]

13. Spontaneity alone won't get it

While it makes for a big bang it usually fizzles for lack of organization. We need to start organizing, from the bottom up. The heat of the moment the Man can withstand, faced with the resolute opposition of a majority of the masses he cannot stand.

**************************************************************************************************

Those on the left who are waiting – waiting for a spontaneous upsurge of the masses – miss the real lesson of the New Deal. Those who put their confidence in the Democratic Party alone also miss the lessons of the New Deal. Putting aside our often stated criticisms of the corrupted, corporate dominated Democratic Party, putting aside our profound dissatisfaction with the two-party system, the New Deal period demonstrates that even with a “friendly” Democratic administration, nothing comes without pressure from the masses, which must be organized and led by the advanced forces.

http://mltoday.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=328&Itemid=57

[robinlynne]

27. Blindpig, your sight is good.

[dchill]

2. Wow!

kick.

[angrycarpenter]

4. see.. free markets work

to make serfs of us all.

Have you seen the price of pitchforks lately? It's to the point that you can't have a decent uprising anymore.

[idlisambar]

5. misleading comparison

GDP is economic output per year, while the $17 trillion figure refers to accumulated wealth over all time.

[Bozita]

6. $17 trillion = $ worth of top 1% = GDP of four leading countries

I don't get the "misleading" part.

[idlisambar]

12. the statement is formally true

and properly understood it is accurate, but relating accumulated wealth to a metric measuring 1-year's worth of output is a little confusing and not particularly revealing. I think a lot of casual viewers would come away thinking that the top 1% in the United States is wealthier than the combined populations of Japan, France, etc. Moreover, most of the statistic's dramatic value relies on this misunderstanding, which is probably why they chose to make it.

Comparing wealth to wealth would have been better.

[GOPBasher]

8. That's still pretty bad.

It's not misleading, it states it directly like that. It didn't say that their *income* is that much, but their wealth. It's still pretty bad.

[New Dawn]

7. And the top 10% control 90% of the wealth

And yet, some still claim that the US government is not a plutocracy. LOL.

[mrbluto]

10. What does this have to do with Mickey Mouse's dog?

A Pluto-cracy?

What would be so bad about that?


We'd be better off than we are with the goofy president we have now.

sorry. couldn't resist

[barbtries]

14. that fact is absolutely obscene.

i fear we're nearing the point where the disparity is so great that it will lead to unrest not previously dreamed of.

[Elspeth]

16. I wonder. With television pacifying everyone, maybe not.

As long as chips are cheap and TV is 24/7, I fear that unrest will be quelled.

[Brundle_Fly]

15. these are the guys who are living like kings under bush

Obama or Clinton only wants to take 5-8% of their incomes...

and I can't see how that would hurt them... whatsoever.

[SammyWinstonJack]

17. This a GREAT country!

:sarcasm:

[KansDem]

19. And they've used that wealth to buy America...

Her politicians, her courts, her media...

[lovuian]

20. They are the Robber Barons Economics 101

when a few own over 90% of a country's assets you will have a depression

[varelse]

21. Oh, come on... they're doing their part to help the economy

Parmar said he is also helping in other ways, by spending more. "If everyone at my level stops spending … it's going to hurt the economy even worse," he said.

See? A true patriot!

Of course, it would never occurr to Parmar that he could have a similar effect on the economy by spending that same money on homes, food, and health care for the poor...

[leftofthedial]

25. capitalism is theft

wealth hoarding is immoral. Our world has finite and insufficient resources.

it is time to eliminate the super wealthy and take the world's resources back from them.

[Jamastiene]

28. OMG, you mean they have a GD:P for each of those countries too?

The world is WORSE than I thought it was. :P