America Doesn’t Have #1 Richest Middle-Class in the World…We’re Ranked 27th!

Big Lie: America Doesn’t Have #1 Richest Middle-Class in the World…We’re Ranked 27th!

America is the richest country on Earth. We have the most millionaires, the most billionaires—and a increasingly poor “middle class.”

AlterNet / By Les Leopold

America is the richest country on Earth. We have the most millionaires, the most billionaires and our wealthiest citizens have garnered more of the planet’s riches than any other group in the world. We even have hedge fund managers who make in one hour as much as the average family makes in 21 years!

This opulence is supposed to trickle down to the rest of us, improving the lives of everyday Americans. At least that’s what free-market cheerleaders repeatedly promise us.

Unfortunately, it’s a lie, one of the biggest ever perpetrated on the American people.

Our middle class is falling further and further behind in comparison to the rest of the world. We keep hearing that America is number one. Well, when it comes to middle-class wealth, we’re number 27.

The most telling comparative measurement is median wealth (per adult). It describes the amount of wealth accumulated by the person precisely in the middle of the wealth distribution—50 percent of the adult population has more wealth, while 50 percent has less. You can’t get more middle than that.

Wealth is measured by the total sum of all our assets (homes, bank accounts, stocks, bonds etc.) minus our liabilities (outstanding loans and other debts). It the best indicator we have for individual and family prosperity. While the never-ending accumulation of wealth may be wrecking the planet, wealth also provides basic security, especially in a country like ours with such skimpy social programs. Wealth allows us to survive periods of economic turmoil. Wealth allows our children to go to college without incurring crippling debts, or to get help for the down payment on their first homes. As Billie Holiday sings, “God bless the child that’s got his own.”

Well, it’s a sad song. As the chart below shows, there are 26 other countries with a median wealth higher than ours (and the relative reduction of U.S. median wealth has done nothing to make our economy more sustainable).

Read more » AlterNet
http://www.alternet.org/economy/americas-middle-class-27th-richest

PETITION: Stand Behind President Obama’s Budget

By Iqbal Tareen

President Obama just sent his budget plan to Congress. It would ensure that the top 1% pays their fair share.

As President Obama said in his State of the Union:

“Tax reform should follow the Buffett rule: If you make more than $1 million a year, you should not pay less than 30 percent in taxes… In fact, if you’re earning a million dollars a year, you shouldn’t get special tax subsidies or deductions…

Now, you can call this class warfare all you want. But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense.”

Sign our petition to stand behind President Obama’s budget  to end special tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires.

SIGN THE PETITION: http://dccc.org/Budget

Millionaire’s March: Protesters Hit the Streets in NY and Visit the 1 Percent at Their Homes

by Lynn Parramore

The Upper East Side is where fatcats like Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, billionaire David Koch, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and hedge funder John Paulsen hang their hats.

It was like an alien invasion. In fact, it was an alien invasion. Thousands of regular people — the kind without homes in the Hamptons, yachts or private planes — marching past some of the country’s most privileged addresses.

If there’s a neighborhood the 1 percent call home ….

Read more » AlterNet