It has been posited many times the United States functions as a “plutonomy.” The word plutonomy is a portmanteau of “plutocracy” and “economy,” meaning an economy based on a plutocracy, which means the richest few command the economy. It’s been argued that it was always that way. Recent figures indicate that the richest few are what have driven any relative improvements in the economy.
Plutonomy has nothing to do with cartoon dogs
What the term plutonomy implies is the economy is driven by and depends on a small number of the wealthiest individuals. Good reasons exist to think the positive signs in the economy have had every little thing to do with what the richest of rich people are doing. Moody’s keeps track of consumer spending patterns, and found some interesting things, according to the Wall Street Journal. The richest 5 percent have spent about 37 percent of all consumers spending for the last 20 years. A scant 40 percent was from the bottom 80 percent. Only 10 percent of the population makes about half the total income within the U.S.
The math works
A 2006 Federal Reserve study by Arthur Kennickell found 70 percent of the wealth in the nation was owned by 10 percent of the population. That means 90 percent of the population splits 30 percent of dollar of value within the United States. It seems Reagan’s trickle went upward, and it was no mere trickle; it was a tidal wave.
Of, by, and for the rich
It has been suggested by some historians for instance Howard Zinn, among others, that the American Founding Fathers were all the richest men in the nation. Their profits were affected more by British taxes than the commoners were. they revolted and established a new nation where they would be able to start an oligarchy of privilege. James Madison estimated only a third of Americans were really for the American Revolution, the rest being either opposed or indifferent. Republics inherently favor the growth of aristocracy and oligarchies. If there is a universal predictor of the collapse of a society, it is the wealthiest few taking economic ownership of the numerous.
Find more information on this subject
online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748703988304575413432696177258.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth_inequality_in_the_United_States
federalreserve.gov/pubs/feds/2006/200613/200613pap.pdf – PDF, demands Adobe Reader
