The Rich are Getting Richer, The Poor are Getting Poorer

It is doubt that the Republicans along with Tea Party candidates are stealing the spotlight from Democrats with less than 6 weeks left before the midterm elections. The larger disagreements by people and with the declining approval rating of the President have urged Democrats to push the panic button. Despite of the criticisms and disagreements faced by these people, it is still commendable to mention the few who stand by their principles and fight for what they think is right and good. Democrat Robert Reich is the author of numerous books including “Aftershock: The Next Economy and America’s Future”. He now talks about the existing imbalance in the economy and the weakened stand of his fellow Democrats unto this very sensitive issue.

With the recent economic recession bringing chaos in the economy and in society, it is quite reasonable to determine who to blame for such catastrophe. Not many people may have noticed it, but the distribution of wealth in the United States is uneven. In a recent article by Mr. Reich, he mentions that this year, the wealthiest persons in America got even wealthier while most of them are paying only minimal taxes. In a recent survey released by Forbes magazine, they noted an 8% increase in the combined net worth of the 400 richest Americans which now amounts to $1.37 trillion. 217 members of the list saw their wealth rose while only 85 experienced a decline.

He highlights several members from the list including Charles and David Koch. These energy magnates were known to pour vast sums of money into Republican and Tea Party-candidates all over America. It is interesting to note that for the past year, their wealth climbed to $21.5 billion with a $5.5 billion increase. Another survey indicated that 25 top hedge-fund managers each obtained an average of $1 billion but was only paying an average of 17 percent in taxes. Because much of their income was considered capital gains, they were taxed only at 15 percent based on the Bush tax cuts bill. The Wall Street continued to dominate the entire list with 109 out of the 400 were either in finance or in investments.

In the article, Reich mentioned about the massive imbalance in wealth in America. While the rich got richer, the poor now got poorer. With unemployment levels reaching 9.6% and with most middle to lower-class earning well below standards, the poverty rate in the nation is now reaching post-war high. Mr. Reich also noted about the softening stance of Democrats with regards to the Bush-era tax cuts. Deciding on whether to extend the tax cuts for the top 2 percent of Americans or for the bottom 98 percent, Democrats have decided to delay their voting until after the mid-term elections. For Reich, it was a golden opportunity for Democrats to show to the nation what is really happening in the nation for the past three decades – the imbalanced distribution of wealth where those who are sitting on top are the ones who are gaining the vast majority of the nation’s wealth.