Friday, June 23, 2017

A reminder of US inequality

The 14 richest Americans made enough money from their investments in one year to hire two million pre-school teachers, about four times the number of pre-school teachers who currently have jobs in the United States. 

Total US wealth increased by a stunning 60 percent between 2009 and 2015, from $54 trillion to $86 trillion, but 3/4 of that massive increase went to the richest 10 percent of Americans.

The lowest-income people live up to 15 years less than those at the high-income end. 

 As a result of their low pay and almost nonexistent savings, almost half of Americans would be unable to afford a $400 emergency room visit without borrowing money or selling personal items. 

The resulting stress leads to mental and physical illness, and perhaps worse. The Centers of Disease Control reported a 24 percent increase in suicides in the first 15 years of this century.

Capitalism is causing the destruction in American lives.

The share of total U.S. personal wealth held by the wealthiest 1/10th of 1% has tripled over the last 36 years from 7% in 1980 to a staggering 22% today.

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