IRS says rich getting richer: report

on-ramp · 10-12-2007, 06:51 AM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071012/bs_nm/irs_income_dc

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The richest one percent of Americans earned a postwar record of 21.2 percent of all income in 2005, up from 19 percent a year earlier, reflecting a widening income disparity among different classes in the nation, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing new Internal Revenue Service data.
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The data showed that the fortunes of the bottom 50 percent of Americans are worsening, with that group earning 12.8 percent of all income in 2005, down from 13.4 percent the year before, the paper said.

It said that while the IRS data goes back only to 1986, academic research suggests that the last time wealthy Americans had such a high percentage of the national income pie was in the 1920s.

The article cited an interview with President Bush, who attributed income inequality to "skills gaps" among various classes. It said the IRS didn't identify the source of rising income for the affluent, but said a boom on Wall Street has likely played a part.

Moneyguy1 · 10-12-2007, 07:03 AM

I, too, saw the report. What I find interesting is that reports on the economy (written and broadcast) are generally written and produced by those on the top of the economic pile which makes the reporting a bit skewed. If there is a program on TV that is hosted by folks in the lower economic classes, I sure would like to know what channel and when!!

Most people live lives of quiet desperation.

DaveE · 10-12-2007, 07:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by on-ramp

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071012/bs_nm/irs_income_dc

..................

The article cited an interview with President Bush, who attributed income inequality to "skills gaps" among various classes. ...............

I thought we were a "classless" society..............

frogger · 10-12-2007, 07:04 AM

Quit b!tching and wait for the trickle down effect.

dtw · 10-12-2007, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by on-ramp

[url] It said the IRS didn't identify the source of rising income for the affluent, but said a boom on Wall Street has likely played a part.

There's that stock market scam again. I can't get money into it fast enough.

Nice job on the fast-paste style article-paste with zero commentary. So many of your various incoherent postings are in conflict with each other, that it is now painfully obvious you are simply trolling the OT waters for mayhem and attention. Why not give it a rest and invest your time in more productive pursuits? Such as earning a living, joining the Republican party, developing a relationship with God, and experiencing true happiness and bliss. Then you'd no longer feel the need to spout such venomous nonsense out of your blowhole.

Seriously, get a life. You're incapable of conducting rational discussion, or at least you haven't shown it here. Go away.

the · 10-12-2007, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveE

I thought we were a "classless" society..............

We are not an economically classless society, that would be impossible, even in a Hillary Clinton socialist utopia.

We are a classless society in the sense that we are all free to work and change the economic class we are in.

rammstein · 10-12-2007, 07:24 AM

Click on the troll to learn about the thread starter

lendaddy · 10-12-2007, 07:27 AM

Does the report mention if income levels for all groups increased or not?

If all are doing better but some more so, is that bad?

Another case of assuming a static amount of income.

rammstein · 10-12-2007, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lendaddy

Does the report mention if income levels for all groups increased or not?

If all are doing better but some more so, is that bad?

Another case of assuming a static amount of income.

Stop thinking! You might learn something

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

All these class warfare reports try to imply that people at the top have always been there and the people at the bottom will always stay there. They don't really explain that just about everyone at the top started at the bottom and worked their way up the economic ladder. I've done plenty of time at the bottom and am climbing to the top and I will get there.

rammstein · 10-12-2007, 07:35 AM

And once you are there, you will be a rich bastard and it will be your duty to give ME money if I fail my fight to the top.

Superman · 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lendaddy

Does the report mention if income levels for all groups increased or not?

If all are doing better but some more so, is that bad?

Another case of assuming a static amount of income.

Her you go, Len:

Report: Most not seeing real wage gains
Employee pay lowest share of GDP since 1947, when government started tracking data. Corporate profits highest share of GDP since the 1960s.
August 28 2006: 11:32 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Most workers have not seen wage gains keep pace with inflation during the current economic expansion, the first time that has happened since World War II, according to a published report.

The New York Times reports that the median hourly wage for American workers has declined 2 percent since 2003, after factoring in inflation. Median wages are the point at which equal numbers of workers earn more and less.

Inflation adjuster

How much would: $

in: be worth today?

Today's dollars: $

The paper reports that while average family income, adjusted for inflation, has continued to advance at a good clip, that has been helped by gains by the top wage earners.

The paper says that about nine out of 10 workers have seen inflation that has outpaced their pay increases over the last three years, according to the Labor Department. That includes workers earning up to $80,000 a year, a level that puts them in the 90th percentile of wage earners.

The paper reports that with employment gains softening in recent months, inflationary pressures stay high due to factors such as high energy prices, so the gap between wages and prices could increase for many workers.

The paper reports that the gap between the top wage earners and other workers is growing. It cites research from economists Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty that showed that in 2004, the top 1 percent of earners --a group that includes many chief executives --received 11.2 percent of all wage income, up from 8.7 percent a decade earlier and less than 6 percent three decades ago.

In addition, corporate profits are growing more quickly than wages and salaries. Employee pay now makes up the lowest share of the nation's gross domestic product since the government began recording the data in 1947, according to the paper, while corporate profits have climbed to their highest share since the 1960s.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

That's a heartwarming fantasy, Rick. Rags to riches stories are wonderful. And inspiring. And rare.

If you're going to argue in this area of economic discourse (I shouldn't do this), it would be important to understand that when this "Top 1%" is mentioned, this is the part of society that does not work. Those earnings are investment earnings. Those families live and lifestyle and are in a world that is not the same as you and I. There is a society in America of families who don't know what the inside of a store or restaurant looks like.

GDSOB · GDSOB's Garage

If it's any consolation, they aren't any happier than the rest of us poor schlubs.

Dueller · 10-12-2007, 08:37 AM

Know the difference between rich and wealthy?

Peyton Manning is rich.

The guy who signs his paycheck is wealthy.

Nathans_Dad · Nathans_Dad's Garage

And in other breaking news...the sky is blue.

I guess I am just ignorant...what is it about rich people making money that pisses liberals off so much?

cairns · 10-12-2007, 08:44 AM

I have to admit the wife and I are making so much it's really embarrassing. I have to think it's that Money & Banking class we took with Dick Cheney so many years ago. That Halliburton stock has gone through the roof and our Exxon stock has been a real winner too. Of course I'm sure I don't need to remind you how well Porsche is doing.

Anyway we tried to give some of our money away by stuffing it in old tires and offering them for free on the internet. Usually on Craigslist.

Would you believe some people called and never showed up to get the tires? I guess they never knew what they missed. Pretty funny, huh?