--61 percent of Americans "always or usually" live paycheck to paycheck, which was up from 49 percent in 2008 and 43 percent in 2007.
--66 percent of the income growth between 2001 and 2007 went to the top 1 percent of all Americans.
--36 percent of Americans say that they don't contribute anything to retirement savings.
--A staggering 43 percent of Americans have less than $10,000 saved up for retirement.
--24 percent of American workers say that they have postponed their planned retirement age in the past year.
--Over 1.4 million Americans filed for personal bankruptcy in 2009, which represented a 32 percent increase over 2008.
--Only the top 5 percent of U.S. households have earned enough additional income to match the rise in housing costs since 1975
While the middle class is shrinking, their wealth is being transferred to the rich. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, has been livid in denouncing this:
"The 400 richest families in America, who saw their wealth increase by some $400 billion during the Bush years, have now accumulated $1.27 trillion in wealth.Four hundred families!
"During the last 15 years, while these enormously rich people became much richer their effective tax rates were slashed almost in half.While the highest paid 400 Americans had an average income of $345 million in 2007, as a result of Bush tax policy, they now pay an effective tax rate of 16.6 percent, the lowest on record.
"Last year, the top 25 hedge fund managers made a combined $25 billion but because of tax policy their lobbyists helped write, they pay a lower effective tax rate than many teachers, nurses, and police officers."
The words of Shirley Sherrod (the Agriculture Department official who was forced out of her job because of a right-wing activist's deceptively edited video portraying her as a black racist) are worth repeating regarding the growing economic inequality facing Americans.
Sherrod's fuller comments included this insight: "Y'all, it's about poor versus those who have, and they could be black; and they could be white; they could be Hispanic. And that made me realize I needed to work to help poor people -- those who don't have access the way others have."
Speaking of "access," last week we learned that the bankers siphoned off $1.2 billion for their own bonuses from government bailout funds. They were scolded but no one is demanding the money be paid back.
We also learned that the total bailout for the banksters was not just $700 billion but a whopping $3.7 TRILLION once you factor in the Federal Reserve's assistance, et. al.
And on top of that, companies are making money by hoarding cash, not creating jobs.
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