The divide between the "haves" and the
"have-nots" in the United States has never been so vast. This
staggering gap in wealth has worsened since the global recession and has proved
problematic—even in cases where the billionaires are generous philanthropists.
A new report reveals that the nation's 20 richest individuals own more wealth
than the entire bottom half of the population.
What's more, with a combined worth of $2.34 trillion, the
richest 400 Americans—who include Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Oprah Winfrey, and
heirs to the Wal-Mart fortune—own more wealth than the bottom 61 percent of the
country, or 194 million people.
The study compares the Forbes list with other segments of
the population, showing great disparity in how this wealth is distributed. For
example, the combined net worth of the Forbes 400 roughly equals the wealth of
the entire African American population, plus a third of the Latino population.
Chuck Collins, senior scholar at the Institute for Policy
Studies (IPS) and co-author of the report Billionaire Bonanza: the Forbes 400and the Rest of Us, explains "Concentrating wealth to this extent gives
rich donors far too much political power," Collins explains,
"including the wherewithal to shape the rules that govern our
economy." He cites the recent New York Times report which found that half
of all political contributions in the 2016 presidential campaign came from just
158 families.
To quote George Carlin: "They OWN you," and as he
also said "They call it the American Dream, because you have to be asleep
to believe it."
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