Plutocracy, Baby

What better way to celebrate the 4th of July--Independence Day!--than this quick little portrait of the real state of the United States. It is a graphic representation of who really is independent in this country. And it ain't the vast majority of us.

This is what plutocracy looks like, brothers and sisters. I stole this right off my daughter's blog. It was so good, I thought I'd share. Do you think for one minute if this were put on billboards all over the country and televised all hours of the day and night that it would make any difference? I don't.

A huge share of the nation's economic growth over the past 30 years has gone to the top one-hundredth of one percent, who now make an average of $27 million per household. The average income for the bottom 90 percent of us? $31,244.

Note: The 2007 data (the most current) doesn't reflect the impact of the housing market crash. In 2007, the bottom 60% of Americans had 65% of their net worth tied up in their homes. The top 1%, in contrast, had just 10%. The housing crisis has no doubt further swelled the share of total net worth held by the superrich.

Related articles

• Jim Hightower: From Democracy to Plutocracy (yubanet.com)
• Ain't Capitalism Grand? (blinkutopia.wordpress.com)