Six Waltons Have More Wealth Than the Bottom 30 % of Americans

[Javaman]

http://news.yahoo.com/six-waltons-more-wealth-bottom-30-americans-182819449.html

Different people will take this different ways, but Jeffrey Goldberg tells us that six members of the Walton family (the original owners of WalMart) have more wealth than the bottom 30 % of Americans. Here's where he says it:

In 2007, according to the labor economist Sylvia Allegretto, the six Walton family members on the Forbes 400 had a net worth equal to the bottom 30 percent of all Americans.

And given that he quotes us here at Forbes on the point, he's almost certainly right.

The question is, what are we to make of this point? I think we all know what Mr. Goldberg wants us to make of it, it's a telling indictment of American wealth inequality, the world's going to the dogs and something must be done about rising inequality

more at link...

[Scuba]

1. Meanwhile, the rest of us pay for health coverage for their employees....

... here in Wisconsin, WalMart employees are the single largest demographic on Badger Care.

[comipinko]

2. Gotta love America.

Where hard work is rewarded, and good deeds are revered!

[tanyev]

3. Let's get them in a reality show where they live in an old house with one bathroom

and all yell good night to each other after they get into bed.

[CarrieLynne]

8. LMFAO!

[Douglas Carpenter]

4. they never looked that rich to me

[dana stevens]

5. Pareto Curve!!

Look up the Pareto curve and learn why their wealth accumulation does not matter to your plebeian life!!

Hateful people do not make for a nice world. Try to be a nicer person.

[Douglas Carpenter]

6. How come stories like this were not in the media until a few months ago? What has happened since

then to suddenly make this kind of subject part of regular news?

[Bandit]

7. Add the two Koch brothers and the eight of them have more wealth than half the nation...

I think they need more tax cuts, don't you?

[Wilms]

9. They create jobs!

Pretty bad ones. Especially in China.