Robert Reich: "We're on the cusp of the largest inter-generational wealth transfer in history."

[kpete]

The wealth is coming from those who over the last three decades earned huge amounts on Wall Street, in corporate boardrooms, or as high-tech entrepreneurs.

It's going to their children, who did nothing except be born into the right family.

The "self-made" man or woman, the symbol of American meritocracy, is disappearing. Six of today's ten wealthiest Americans are heirs to prominent fortunes. Just six Walmart heirs have more wealth than the bottom 42 percent of Americans combined (up from 30 percent in 2007).


Much more:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-reich/the-rise-of-the-non-working-rich_b_5589684.html?utm_hp_ref=homepage

[Tetris_Iguana]

1. I'm happy that my parents will get something.

However, I'm not going to get squat.

Trickle down, my ass.

[rock]

5. Welcome to DU

I see you appreciate the value of commas.

[PowerToThePeople]

2. same thing has happened before

[Aristus]

3. Somewhere, Madame DeFarge is knitting shrouds for some very wealthy corpses...

n/t

[woo me with science]

4. That's correct. And the dynamics of the system have reached a critical point so that

the proportion of the country's wealth being funnelled into these families will continue to increase, simply because of the way our tax and economic systems have been restructured. MORE money will be going to the families than returned to the system, so inequality will continue to spiral until we have a small group of incomprehensibly wealthy owners and a massive population of impoverished economic slaves.

I have lost the link to a chilling article that provided the numbers and projections. We truly have a grave systemic problem that can only be addressed through a systemic solution.

[redqueen]

6. If you find it please post it.

K&R

[Indydem]

7. So what do you think these lucky babies will do?

They haven't earned a dime of this money. They didn't sacrifice for it, or work long hours. They never had to stress about how to afford their meals or how to make a payroll.

They will squander it.

And the middle and lower classes will be the benefactors.

The worst thing they can do is keep it, which is what their parents have done.

I see this as a good thing.

[progressoid]

10. So, trickle down squandering.

A handful of Waltons have 150 Billion dollars. And they are no where near ready to die so their heirs can "squander" their money down to us.

[kentuck]

9. I don't usually disagree with Robert Reich but..

I think we are beyond the "cusp". I think it has already happened.

[KittyWampus]

11. the extremely wealthy are like a tumor. Wealth needs to be circulated throughout the body politic

allowing a very few to control so much really is like having a few deadly tumors on our society.

[msongs]

12. our democrats and republicans in congress and the white house make this possible. thank them nt