Following is a small sample of how the Rich and Corporations have sucked the wealth out of America – and many other countries;
1]. The Gini coeffcient, which measures wealth distribution was .441 for 1774 America, including slaves. It was .463 for 2012 America. “What that means is that the America of 2012 was actually more unequal than the America of 1774 – EVEN INCLUDING SLAVES…even more surprising because the Gini coefficient for America in 2012 is based on household incomes AFTER taking into account taxes and transfer payments…” [Sitaraman: “The Crisis of the Middle-Class Constitution. Why Economic Inequality Threatens Our Republic”]
2] 81.7% of wealth created in the United States between 1983 and 2009 was gained by the top 5% {“In These Times”; December,2011]
3]. “Companies paying for fraud, but executives aren’t” $8 billion in fines that corporations were expected to pay in 2012 to resolve charges of defrauding the government – not the people who did it. [Michael Schmidt, Edward Wyatt; N.Y. Times; 8/8/2012]
4]. The bottom 50% 0f U.S. workers had less wealth in 2018, adjusted for inflation, then they did in 1988. [“Fulfillment”]
5]. $3 trillion – America’s 2014 health care bill, more than the next 10 nations combined. [“America’s Bitter Pill”]
6]. $100 million – lost to the U.S. Treasury [YOU!!!], because of the 1872 “General Mining Law,” in 2000 ALONE. [“Is That a Politician in Your Pocket?”]
7]. $0%. – what 91. 2018 profitable Fortune 500 companies paid in 2018 taxes [But – YOU did!!!]. {“Tax The Rich”]
8] 300,000 men, women, and children of the top 1/10 of the top 1% – had more income than the bottom 150 million Americans in 2005 [Johnston: “Free Lunch”]
9] 56,190 – number of American factories closed, 2002-2012, “A record 5.7 million factor workers lost jobs…exceeded manufacturing job losses during the Great Depression..” [“Betrayal of the American Dream”]
10]. $17 million – what a single anonymous donor spent on each, to get Gorsuch and Kavanaugh onto the Supreme Court. “..we will likely never know..what business he or she had before the Court.” [“The Scheme”]
11] $32 trillion – the undisclosed wealth stashed in overseas havens by wealthy individuals from around the world. [Rick Gladstone; N.Y. Times; 4/5/l1; “Leaked records..show vast hidden wealth” ]
12] $15 trillion – what Switzerland saves on health care because it moved to universal health care while controlling costs [2010]; in 1980 – U.S. and Switzerland had comparable health costs per capita. [“American Amnesia” ]
13] from 1999 to 2010, U.S. median wages went up a total of $56
With Justice For All 