How Can the Richest 1 Percent Be Winning This Brutal Class War Against 99% of Us?

Moreover, the top 1% are now winning a war against the next 2-10%, who have seen their incomes also stagnate in the last 5-10 years just as the middle class has for the past 30-40 years.

From a source called the Smirking Chimp? Really? Come on.

Funny no one really ever complained all that much about the rich until now. Of course lets blame someone else for all the woes. Yet for those not in the 1%tile if you were, you wouldn't be complaining and you would be happy. Not the riches fault those not in the top percentile don't know how to stop spending outside of their means.

Yup blame the rich, tis easier than personal responsibility. The rich are merely living their lives like everyone else.

You don't want to rich to be rich, well stop using computers, stop buying Apple products, stop watching tv, stop with electronics and technology. Grow your own food, make your own clothes, make your own furniture, ride a bike or horse and buggy.

Look at the Amish self contained completely in their communities and more friendly and seemingly a lot more happy, family oriented and community oriented.

Everyone complaining about the rich, well you facilitate their income. *shrugs*

Eventually it will all come to an end. What's happening in Egypt is just a year or so from happening here in America and other countries. The people are fed up in this 1% taking all their hard earned incomes and then thinking that they are better than the rest of us. sorry to disappoint the government and the elitists, but there is one Earth and you can run as far as you want, but you can't hide.

You don't want to rich to be rich, well stop using computers, stop buying Apple products, stop watching tv, stop with electronics and technology.

It's not about buying products. I have no problem with someone who actually produces something making money, and if it's a great product they deserve to make a lot.

The problem is in areas like the financial industry where people who make nothing of value, and in fact simply make money off other people's money and products, get filthy rich. It is virtually impossible in this day and age to get by without credit, and these people benefit from a system where it would take most people decades to save enough to buy a house with cash, and the stock market these days looks more and more like a giant ponzi scheme.

Another is those who make money off of exploiting natural resources, oil companies, logging and mining companies all get preferential treatment by the government, often using public lands and infrastructure, as well as protection abroad from the military, all subsidized by the American taxpayer, with private companies making the profits. And then these same people are the ones that complain the loudest about taxes.

You don't want to rich to be rich, well stop using computers, stop buying Apple products, stop watching tv, stop with electronics and technology.

More importantly....stop caring about what the hell celebrities do. If you want to make a difference, quite your people/us/crap magazine subscriptions, quit watching TV channels where "celebrities" that hump for attention get rich off the lemmings the live and die to find out what they do, look like, eat, shop for, wear, etc... Celebs make upwards of 5 MILLION dollars to have their babies photographed because idiots buy the magazines like dogs in heat. They get paid tens of thousands of dollars to say a product line in a half a second, because so many are quick to jump on the bandwagon...don't believe it - Sarah Palin glasses were sold out EVERYWHERE the week after she made the VP announcement, and when Oprah recommends a book on her show, they know it will go best seller without question.

Stop promoting and over-promoting that type of behavior, stop paying hundreds of dollars to see concerts, stop spending thousands to see kids throw a round ball in a hoop.

The 99% piss it all away for this type of behavior forgetting that in days gone by, these "celebrities" were nothing more that court jesters that were barely able to make ends meet, and where if they failed, they might be killed.

Now they they are "too big to fail", regardless what they do - and people are just too stupid or too simple to understand that so as to be wise enough to "pull the plug".

In short - learn to think for yourself.

Yeah celebrities, who account for a tiny fraction of that 1% of the U.S. population, are the big problem.

Yeah celebrities, who account for a tiny fraction of that 1% of the U.S. population, are the big problem.

See...you missed the entire point - it's not the "celebrities" but the lemmings among us that live and breathe their every movement. There are entire industries sucking common people dry every single day because people have this sick obsession with that culture. And again, that goes for athletes and performers as well.

People buy clothes, eat food, make $500 phone choices, buy....honestly..."crap" separating themselves from their funds to try and follow the latest celebrity trend. They make more money because of it, and the separation grows greater...and greater...and greater.

Sure, you'll have the Maddoff's that will rip people off but those are like the quick bandaid that gets ripped off - you recognize it and you can do your best to steer clear of it...but then you find out that Kobe's wearing purple New Balance this year and suddenly your shoes are crap and it's time to piss away another $175...just because a celebrity wears it, or more comically, because they SAY they do - in the case of Micheal Jackson that didn't even LIKE Pepsi...put everyone dove to Pepsi because MJ did a commercial about it...

If you don't understand that, then you're too deep in the mix to be able to see it - advertisers make fun of people every single day and people are too blind to see it.

There is a reason why entrepreneurs and business owners don't choose to advertise their products and services in Malawi or Zambia. Everyone is poor, and has no money to buy products or services.

Does a rich business owner "get rich" by offering or advertising his products in poor areas or downtrodden slums?

Or does the Rich Business Owner offer his products to consumers with money?

Shawn: I saw a commercial for eye glasses the other day where a woman on the commercial says " I want to go to a place where I can find all my favorite designers." I have never had enough money to have a favorite designer well ok Levi Strauss. I know what you are talking about.

Rick you are wrong buddy they aim those commercials right at the poor. Stressing how in fact that the poor stereotype might fall from you with those cool new 150$ sneakers on your feet.

Everyone is poor, and has no money to buy products or services.

Partly right...they advertise to people because some people are sheep (especially in this country), and do exactly what the advertisements tell them to do. A business owner will stop advertising (and subsequently stop paying a celeb a million dollars) if they make nothing on the product's endorsement, REGARDLESS if the consumer is rich or poor.

If I have $500 and they have a celebrity tell me how wonderful product 'xyz' is...if i'm dumb enough to believe it JUST BECAUSE they said it...I don't deserve to have my money in the first place (fool and their money...)

but...

If I don't care about that celebrity/jock/etc. and what he/she has to say, and instead keep my money, the advertiser will not go back to them, they will lose future endorsements because their value in the market tanks, and eventually, you'll see them peddling low budget, b-rate horror movies for SAG minimums.

In that instance, their wealth will go down...and mine will stay constant, or if I'm wise with my funds, will rise accordingly.

You want to win a war - you can't look at a single answer solution, but at every day's battles and the breadth of the battleground.

The casualties are your funds which translates to your security and peace of mind with fmaily and unless people change (and as I said before, start thinking for themselves), the war is over before it's even started.

People buy clothes, eat food, make $500 phone choices

The key word there is choices. People do not have the choice, however, to avoid the financial industry.

Short of keeping your money in your mattress, you're pretty much stuck with banking and credit and all the fees and interest associated with it.

There are a lot more people getting rich in the financial industry than there are celebrities, and pretty much everyone uses banking and credit vs. a few idiot consumers who let popular culture make their decisions for them.

Short of keeping your money in your mattress, you're pretty much stuck with banking and credit and all the fees and interest associated with it.

My money is in a bank that charges no fees and gives me interest. I have a credit card with no fees that gives me 1-2% with every penny I spend. I actually MAKE money on the financial institutions that I use (understanding that they are also making money to hold my money).

The key word there is choices. People do not have the choice, however, to avoid the financial industry.

I agree...but how big an industry is...say, the 'purse knockoff' business. There are women you and I see every single day that are buying knockoff cheaply made purses because...they want to give off an illusion. We are so hell bent to "fit in" to some pre-defined model as set forth by some inane commercial that we're willing to sell our very souls, one dollar at a time. And that IS the key...I couldn't take $1,000 from someone very easily, but you can almost guarantee that I could borrow change without end and still end up with the same $1,000...and they wouldn't even know it.

There are a lot more people getting rich in the financial industry than there are celebrities, and pretty much everyone uses banking and credit vs. a few idiot consumers who let popular culture make their decisions for them.

That's a judgement call I guess - while there are a host of people making money hand over fist in finance, there are a great many that don't even go near the stock market, and many that do in fact just keep their money in their mattress.

But it's those same people that will see Kedra do her Weight Watchers commercial and have no problem plucking down a few bucks "because wow, look how great she looks"...or ready to buy the newest "ab-crap" machine because some celeb is now endorsing it. The industry is HUGE and people need to wake up from the coma that they've been led into since they first saw commercials as children and think from themselves.

Remember...we are a consumer-driven nation - our entire country survives only if people shop. So the entire goal for our countries movement forward from top down is to coax people out of their money. It's what people are trying to figure out how to do every single moment of every single day.

My money is in a bank that charges no fees and gives me interest. I have a credit card with no fees that gives me 1-2% with every penny I spend. I actually MAKE money on the financial institutions that I use (understanding that they are also making money to hold my money).

This is part of that assumption that "everyone" can do what you do when the correct one is "anyone" but not everyone.

If everyone did what you do, the banking sector would collapse.

I agree...but how big an industry is...say, the 'purse knockoff' business. There are women you and I see every single day that are buying knockoff cheaply made purses because...they want to give off an illusion. We are so hell bent to "fit in" to some pre-defined model as set forth by some inane commercial that we're willing to sell our very souls, one dollar at a time. And that IS the key...I couldn't take $1,000 from someone very easily, but you can almost guarantee that I could borrow change without end and still end up with the same $1,000...and they wouldn't even know it.

We can sit there and continue to blame ourselves, but point of fact is most of us face some real consequences for our irresponsibility. The banking sector did not. And continues to not.

On top of this, most of the issue that has been created has little to do with American's need to consume.

It's an inverse pyramid. Our spending the the *smallest portion*

http://www.rics.org/site/download_feed.aspx?fileID=6979&fileExtension=PDF

The global credit crunch, and subsequent economic crisis, was, in the final analysis, triggered by real estate and the bursting of an asset price bubble. ***This of itself would not have been catastrophic had property not been abused through unwise leadership and the application of game theory to risk management***, leading to the creation of an inverse pyramid of debt and insurance products which Warren Buffet so eloquently described as "financial weapons of mass destruction".

You're asking us to assume responsibility for things well beyond our control. In other words, we need to have the ability to control them, if we're going to be held accountable. As such, we need outlets to be able to place consequences upon them.

That's a judgement call I guess - while there are a host of people making money hand over fist in finance, there are a great many that don't even go near the stock market

Averages will tell you people earning the "ultra wealthy" limit, that is the top 1% have more than 50+% of their assets in stock markets of some kind.

Trying to make it seem like this is how people who are wealthy stay wealthy (by avoiding banks...hahahahahaha) is not true and a little disengenous.

The stock market offers reinforcement of wealth naturally by its reduced tax. Meaning, the more you make in "capital income" the more you can force others who don't have as much capital income out.

And you can prove that mathematically. And it is actually what is happening right now to the top 2-10%. They are being forced out by people even wealthier than them.

But it's those same people that will see Kedra do her Weight Watchers commercial and have no problem plucking down a few bucks "because wow, look how great she looks"...or ready to buy the newest "ab-crap" machine because some celeb is now endorsing it. The industry is HUGE

This is beyond consumption of goods. It's manipulation of financial markets. Which, no, without the ability to inflict consequences, we can do nothing to stop. Even you, who has money in the bank, are a participant. They have leveraged and mismanaged your funds to everyone elses detriment.

Descretionary spending is such a small portion of the issue. What is a severe issue is continued lack of wage growth, the rise in pricing for housing (both rental and home), food, transportation, healthcare, etc.

Remember...we are a consumer-driven nation - our entire country survives only if people shop.

What you are failing to account is most of our disposable income doesn't go to frivolous consumption that you think everyone can just end.

The vast majority goes to the needs. Food, shelter, clothing, and being able to work (which means healthcare, transportation, education, etc for most of us).

Buying a house, car, etc is consumption too.

Theoretically, government should be a countervailing force against the excesses of big money, take the long view for the good of the nation, and watch out for the majority. Let alone for the poor and downtrodden.

Yep, but not when you live in a Fascist State.

They have money.

We have votes.

Yes, but they use their money to scare you into voting for them. Its about that simple.

We have votes

Voting isn't enough.

Where have you been you do not know this ?

If I said he sun comes up in the east would you ask for sources ? If I said child molestation was wrong would you ask for sources ? I have stated the obvious which does not need references.

Here's a few that illustrate some of the disturbing effects of single parent families on the children:

"Facts About Single Parent Families." Parents Without Partners. Parent Without Partners. 13 Mar. 2006 .

Arasteh, Josephine D. Impact of Divorce, Single Parenting and Step parenting on Children. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1988.

Burns, Ailsa. Mother-Headed Families and Why They Have Increased. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc., 1994.

Crossman, Sharon M., and Gerald R. Adams. "Divorce, Single Parenting, and Child Development."Journal of Psychology 1980: 205.

Edin, Kathryn, and Laura Lein. Making Ends Meet: How Single Mothers Survive Welfare and Low-Wage Work. New York City: Russell Sage Foundation, 1997.

Garis, Dalton. "Poverty, Single-Parent Households, and Youth At-Risk Behavior: An Empirical Study." Journal of Economic Issues 1998: 1079-1085.

Hetherington, E. Mavis. Coping with Divorce, Single Parenting, and Remarriage: A Risk and Resiliency Perspective. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc., 1999.

Lamb, Michael E. Parenting and Child Development in "Nontraditional" Families. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1998.

Walton, Barbara . "Single Parent Support Groups and Information on the Web." World Wide Web Reviews. 22 March 1999. 13 Mar. 2006 .

As to the finanical impact that is felt on the society (though it is addressed somewhat in a couple of the above)...I'm sure something could be found just as easily that is exclusive - the above were found in about 15 minutes, but I have to get to a meeting right now.

Nice job Shawn

Powerisknowledge

I had left the Vine because on it I had found a bit too much of individuals that when they were ask to explain, or prove a point they would write back because I said so. As a teacher I made it clear to my students that it was fine with me that they disagreed with me or another member of the class, yet in doing so I will not accept "Because" for an answer. That was OK when they were five or six yet not OK as an adult.

Hate to break it to Ira, but ignoring them won't make them go away. Unfortunately, we share a country with many who don't see the value in reasoned debate.

Calling people names or attacking them does not elevate your status.

infohack

I agree with you at least partly. I have never been one to ignore the action of another who by their actions physical, written or verbal damaged another man or beast. The first thing that would come to my mind in a situation that you seem to be speaking of is to decide if any action that I could take at the moment would help the situation. Simply by pushing forward at an aggressor who is pushing at me most times adds nothing to the situation. Now if I would decide to take action because of what I saw to the best of my understanding as hurtful action I would at least try to do so in a positive manner. Many years ago I took up the art of Judo. Judo is called the gentle art or way. If one pushes at you you should take his/her energy and use it by pulling at him/her. If one pulls at you you should not pull back against him/her, but move in the direction of the pull. And so forth for all other directions that may happen. This is true,I believe, of conversation and actions that are found on the Vine, and unfortunately in our halls of congress, media and gatherings of all kinds.

i hope that I never get to the point of being passive where I ignor what I see as hurtful, yet I hope that to the best of my ability that I try to find a manner to add to what I understand as Right in an intelligent and purposeful way.