The concern has been raised many times over whether the United States is becoming or already is a “plutonomy.” The word plutonomy is a portmanteau of “plutocracy” and “economy,” meaning an economy depending on a plutocracy, which means the richest few command the economy. It has been argued that it was always that way. Recent figures indicate the richest few are what have driven any relative improvements within the economy.
Plutonomy has nothing to do with cartoon dogs
The term implies that the wealthiest of the rich are who the economy revolves around. Good reasons exist to think the positive signs in the economy have had anything to do with what the richest of rich people are doing. According to the Wall Street Journal, Moody’s has kept track of consumer spending habits, including the richest 20 percent of the population. Within the last 20 years, 37 percent of all consumers spending was from the richest 5 percent. The bottom 80 percent (i.e. the rest of us) contributed less than 40 percent. The richest 10 percent make about half the income of the U.S.
The numbers work
According to a study released in 2006 by the Federal Reserve, economist Arthur Kennickell found that the wealthiest 10 percent of the nation held almost 70 percent of the wealth. That means for every dollar of value in the sum total of all non-public assets of the United States, 90 percent of the population owns only 30 cents worth. The trickle Reagan talked about was no trickle going down; it was a tsunami going upwards.
In order to establish a more perfect union for the rich
A few scholars, for instance Howard Zinn, observed that the Founding Fathers of this country were the wealthiest of the rich. Taxes to the crown cost them more than the commoners. Thus, they revolted and established a nation in which they would enjoy an oligarchy of advantage. James Madison estimated only a 3rd of Americans were really for the American Revolution, the rest being either opposed or indifferent. Republics inherently favor the growth of aristocracy and oligarchies. If there is one universal harbinger of doom for a society, it is a growing and vast disparity between the wealthiest few and also the numerous poor.
Discover more information on this subject
online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748703988304575413432696177258.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth_inequality_in_the_United_States
federalreserve.gov/pubs/feds/2006/200613/200613pap.pdf – PDF, demands Adobe Reader
