SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Demonstrators gathered in Times Square in New York City on July 27, 2021 to participate in a "Tax the Rich Game Show" and demand higher taxes on big corporations and wealthy people. (Photo: Tax March)
As Americans Demand Tax Reforms, Analysis Finds Top 1% Hold More Wealth Than Whole Middle Class
By comparison, in 1990 the top 1% held just 17% of the nation's wealth—less than half of the middle class' 36%.
Oct 08, 2021
As the bombshell Pandora Papers continue to expose dubious details about how the world's superrich hide their fortunes and avoid paying their fair share of taxes, Bloomberg on Friday published an analysis of U.S. Federal Reserve data revealing that Americans in the top 1% income tier now have more wealth than the entire middle class.
According to Bloomberg:
The middle 60% of U.S. households by income--a measure economists often use as a definition of the middle class--saw their combined assets drop to 26.6% of national wealth as of June, the lowest in Federal Reserve data going back three decades. For the first time, the superrich had a bigger share, at 27%.
"Middle class" is defined here as households earning $27,000 to $141,000 annually, while the income threshold for membership in the 1% is $500,000 per year. According to the Fed data, 1.3 million U.S. households now have more wealth than the 77.8 million families in the middle 60%.
By comparison, in 1990 the top 1% held just 17% of the nation's wealth--less than half of the middle class' 36%. Since the Occupy Wall Street movement elevated conversation about "the 99% v. the 1%" from the lexicon of class warfare to mainstream debate a decade ago, the top 1% now enjoy a 5% bigger slice of the wealth "pie," at the expense of everyone else.
\u201cThe top 1% has long been richer than all poor people combined.\n\nNow they're richer than the entire middle class, too.\n\nAnd the Senate is cutting services for the poor and middle class to avoid making the 1% pay the same in taxes as everyone else.\nhttps://t.co/8IqyXBK9cM\u201d— Dan Price (@Dan Price) 1633726140
The middle class' share of real estate, equities, and private businesses has also steadily declined in recent decades. While the middle class owned 44% of U.S. real estate assets in 1991, its share is down to 38% today.
The new analysis comes as American politicians and people debate what fair taxation looks like.
While Republicans and right-wing Democrats in Congress vehemently oppose raising taxes on the wealthiest individuals and corporations, most Americans--including a slim majority of self-described Republicans--back President Joe Biden's plan to raise taxes on people earning over $400,000 annually, according to a recent survey by Data for Progress and Invest in America. The poll also found that a majority of Americans, including 47% of Republicans, support raising the tax rate on large corporations from 21% to 28%.
\u201cNEW: @DataProgress poll!\n\n\u2705Voters overwhelmingly support the ways the #BuildBackBetter plan is paid for!\n\u2705The majority of voters want to raise taxes on the wealthy.\n\nHey Congress, let's get it done.\nhttps://t.co/Ojn8TqDVlh\u201d— Patriotic Millionaires (@Patriotic Millionaires) 1631898840
The Bloomberg report also comes amid ongoing revelations from the Pandora Papers, a tremendous trove of nearly 12 million documents whose contents include details about how the U.S. is a "spectacularly corrupt tax haven," as one journalist described the findings.
On January 20th, it begins...
Political revenge. Mass deportations. Project 2025. Unfathomable corruption. Attacks on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Pardons for insurrectionists. An all-out assault on democracy. Republicans in Congress are scrambling to give Trump broad new powers to strip the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit he doesn’t like by declaring it a “terrorist-supporting organization.” Trump has already begun filing lawsuits against news outlets that criticize him. At Common Dreams, we won’t back down, but we must get ready for whatever Trump and his thugs throw at us. Our Year-End campaign is our most important fundraiser of the year. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. By donating today, please help us fight the dangers of a second Trump presidency. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
As the bombshell Pandora Papers continue to expose dubious details about how the world's superrich hide their fortunes and avoid paying their fair share of taxes, Bloomberg on Friday published an analysis of U.S. Federal Reserve data revealing that Americans in the top 1% income tier now have more wealth than the entire middle class.
According to Bloomberg:
The middle 60% of U.S. households by income--a measure economists often use as a definition of the middle class--saw their combined assets drop to 26.6% of national wealth as of June, the lowest in Federal Reserve data going back three decades. For the first time, the superrich had a bigger share, at 27%.
"Middle class" is defined here as households earning $27,000 to $141,000 annually, while the income threshold for membership in the 1% is $500,000 per year. According to the Fed data, 1.3 million U.S. households now have more wealth than the 77.8 million families in the middle 60%.
By comparison, in 1990 the top 1% held just 17% of the nation's wealth--less than half of the middle class' 36%. Since the Occupy Wall Street movement elevated conversation about "the 99% v. the 1%" from the lexicon of class warfare to mainstream debate a decade ago, the top 1% now enjoy a 5% bigger slice of the wealth "pie," at the expense of everyone else.
\u201cThe top 1% has long been richer than all poor people combined.\n\nNow they're richer than the entire middle class, too.\n\nAnd the Senate is cutting services for the poor and middle class to avoid making the 1% pay the same in taxes as everyone else.\nhttps://t.co/8IqyXBK9cM\u201d— Dan Price (@Dan Price) 1633726140
The middle class' share of real estate, equities, and private businesses has also steadily declined in recent decades. While the middle class owned 44% of U.S. real estate assets in 1991, its share is down to 38% today.
The new analysis comes as American politicians and people debate what fair taxation looks like.
While Republicans and right-wing Democrats in Congress vehemently oppose raising taxes on the wealthiest individuals and corporations, most Americans--including a slim majority of self-described Republicans--back President Joe Biden's plan to raise taxes on people earning over $400,000 annually, according to a recent survey by Data for Progress and Invest in America. The poll also found that a majority of Americans, including 47% of Republicans, support raising the tax rate on large corporations from 21% to 28%.
\u201cNEW: @DataProgress poll!\n\n\u2705Voters overwhelmingly support the ways the #BuildBackBetter plan is paid for!\n\u2705The majority of voters want to raise taxes on the wealthy.\n\nHey Congress, let's get it done.\nhttps://t.co/Ojn8TqDVlh\u201d— Patriotic Millionaires (@Patriotic Millionaires) 1631898840
The Bloomberg report also comes amid ongoing revelations from the Pandora Papers, a tremendous trove of nearly 12 million documents whose contents include details about how the U.S. is a "spectacularly corrupt tax haven," as one journalist described the findings.
As the bombshell Pandora Papers continue to expose dubious details about how the world's superrich hide their fortunes and avoid paying their fair share of taxes, Bloomberg on Friday published an analysis of U.S. Federal Reserve data revealing that Americans in the top 1% income tier now have more wealth than the entire middle class.
According to Bloomberg:
The middle 60% of U.S. households by income--a measure economists often use as a definition of the middle class--saw their combined assets drop to 26.6% of national wealth as of June, the lowest in Federal Reserve data going back three decades. For the first time, the superrich had a bigger share, at 27%.
"Middle class" is defined here as households earning $27,000 to $141,000 annually, while the income threshold for membership in the 1% is $500,000 per year. According to the Fed data, 1.3 million U.S. households now have more wealth than the 77.8 million families in the middle 60%.
By comparison, in 1990 the top 1% held just 17% of the nation's wealth--less than half of the middle class' 36%. Since the Occupy Wall Street movement elevated conversation about "the 99% v. the 1%" from the lexicon of class warfare to mainstream debate a decade ago, the top 1% now enjoy a 5% bigger slice of the wealth "pie," at the expense of everyone else.
\u201cThe top 1% has long been richer than all poor people combined.\n\nNow they're richer than the entire middle class, too.\n\nAnd the Senate is cutting services for the poor and middle class to avoid making the 1% pay the same in taxes as everyone else.\nhttps://t.co/8IqyXBK9cM\u201d— Dan Price (@Dan Price) 1633726140
The middle class' share of real estate, equities, and private businesses has also steadily declined in recent decades. While the middle class owned 44% of U.S. real estate assets in 1991, its share is down to 38% today.
The new analysis comes as American politicians and people debate what fair taxation looks like.
While Republicans and right-wing Democrats in Congress vehemently oppose raising taxes on the wealthiest individuals and corporations, most Americans--including a slim majority of self-described Republicans--back President Joe Biden's plan to raise taxes on people earning over $400,000 annually, according to a recent survey by Data for Progress and Invest in America. The poll also found that a majority of Americans, including 47% of Republicans, support raising the tax rate on large corporations from 21% to 28%.
\u201cNEW: @DataProgress poll!\n\n\u2705Voters overwhelmingly support the ways the #BuildBackBetter plan is paid for!\n\u2705The majority of voters want to raise taxes on the wealthy.\n\nHey Congress, let's get it done.\nhttps://t.co/Ojn8TqDVlh\u201d— Patriotic Millionaires (@Patriotic Millionaires) 1631898840
The Bloomberg report also comes amid ongoing revelations from the Pandora Papers, a tremendous trove of nearly 12 million documents whose contents include details about how the U.S. is a "spectacularly corrupt tax haven," as one journalist described the findings.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.