The link below takes you to a new report released last week by the Congressional Budget Office detailing the income growth of the Top 1% as compared to the REST OF US from 1979 to 2007. This report seemingly adds fuel to the fires of the Occupy protests that are happening today. At the same time it shows that while some households, maybe mine, maybe yours, are relatively close to the top 1%, but that the difference in the income growth for those statistically close does not even compare to the enormous income growth of the Top 1%!
To give you an idea of what I'm talking about, refer to Appendix A of the link which shows a table outlining the written Summary section. The income growth of the lowest income group grew by pprx. 26% from 1979 to 7007. The 99th percentile group had an average income of apprx.$130,000 in 2007 for an increase of apprx. 65% from 1979. Some of us may be in that group. However, the Top 1% income group's income was apprx. $347,000+ in 2007 for an increase of OVER 300%! Realistically speaking, some of us, say a professional, college graduate couple, have household incomes greater than the $130,000 (99th percentile group), but IF their income in 2007 was less than the Top 1% household income of over $300,000, then their income growth was still only 65% over the period as compared to the over 300% growth for the Top 1%!
Given that the gap in income growth from 1979 to 2007 between the 99 percentile (65% growth) and the Top 1% (over 300% growth), then it is clear that the 99th percentile should be out there protesting with the others who may well be in the groups below the 99th percentile group. And further, given this disparity, it accelerates the belief that there really is no such thing as a middle class. There's only the Top 1% and the REST OF US! The greedy and the needy, as they say.
Western countries derive their social structure from the early Greek concept of the republic as set forth in Plato's Republic in which the definition of Justice was the interest of the stronger party. This concept plays out as a constant struggle between the few and the many, the rich and the poor, the oligarchs and the REST OF US! The early Greek polis (from which they get the words politics, politicians, political science, etc; a word that did not exist in many ancient Afrikan languages) was originally conceived as an armed fort. .Thus, the oligarchs use their armed fort (or police) to stop the Occupy protestors in order to maintain Justice, or the interest of the stronger party.
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