This is not a "Democrat" vs. "Republican" problem... it is "BIG BUSINESS" and corrupt government VS.

"We the People" ... the 99% . The "Roman Battle Plan" was always to DIVIDE AND CONQUER... and as we get fixated on what we "HATE" about the OTHER GUY, we forget that "our side" also SUCKS and is in bed with the real problem. I agree with both of you two... you are both passionate, intelligent and ready for CHANGE in a NEW DIRECTION... one that "WE THE PEOPLE" have some say in. YOU ARE PART OF THE 99%! SPEAK UP!!! YOUR WISDOM IS NEEDED TO BE VOICED! These kids and America NEED YOU! Thanks! I will be posting a new video speaking in the next few days... for now... Please don't get to rapped up in the micro labeling of "Dems, Reps, Socialist, Anti or Pro... " The real problem is the SYSTEM IS FLAWED. Our financial system throughout the world is set up without any REAL VALUE... we took away all relationship to GOLD back in 1973... The "VALUE" of money is imaginary... it is built on "consumer confidence". And, because of all of humanity using "MONEY" as a measure of security, wealth, health and happiness... this imagined "Economic Disparity" is revealing the real problem... that the foundation is set up to have no real "VALUE"... only imaginary. During this "depression" that we've been going through, BANKERS, Wall Street "Investors", Real Estate, and other "Wealthy" Money manipulators have gained more of this POWER from the Less Fortunate. This has broadened the ECONOMIC DISPARITY in the world. It is said that a small percentage of the top 1% of the richest people in America own more than 50% of the rest of us put together! This is where the term 99% comes from. The HAVE NOTS! At the root of this is ETHICS. It is a mess. The politicians are run by "lobbyists" who are run by "big business" who are driven by "momentary profits" and not HEALTH OR HAPPINESS FOR THE MASSES AND THE FUTURE... and the "mass media" is owned by the same Few Big Businesses... and this is no longer an "American" problem but a WORLD PROBLEM! ... the "LOVE FOR MONEY, EGO, POWER, CONTROL". Ethics must overcome the powers of old. Brian D Hardin

Who are the 1 percent?

Posted by Suzy Khimm at 11:13 AM ET, 10/06/2011

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This post has been updated. Occupy Wall Street says their movement represent the 99 percent of Americans whove been left behind, while a tiny minority of wealthy earners pull ahead. So who are the 1 percenters?

(SOURCE: REUTERS )Taken

literally, the top 1 percent of American households had a mininum income

of $516,633 in 2010 a figure that includes wages, government transfers and money from capital gains, dividends and other investment income. That number is down from peak of $646,195 in 2007, before the economic crisis hit, all adjusted to 2011 dollars, according tocalculations by the Tax Policy Center. By contrast, the bottom 60 percent earned a maximum of $59,154 in 2010, the bottom 40 percent earned a max of $33,870,

while the bottom 20 percent earned just $16,961 at maximum. As Annie Lowrey points out, that gap has grown wider over time: The top 1 percent of households took a bigger share of overall income in 2007 than they did at any time since 1928. (And in New York City, its even more skewed: the top 1 percent have an average of $3.7 million in income.) When you look at the disparity in net worth, things look even more skewed. Wealthier Americans have assets in home equity, stocks and other investments that generally outstrip their cash income. Average wealth of the top 1 percent was almost $14 million in 2009, according to a 2011 report from the Economic Policy Institute. Thats down from a peak of $19.2 million in 2007. By contrast, the poorest households were experiencing declines in net worth even before the recession hit. In 2007, the bottom 20 percent of households had an average (negative!) net worth of $13,800 in 2007, which fell further to $27,200 in 2009. Altogether, average wealth of the bottom 80 percent was just $62,900 in 2009 a dropoff of $40,900 from 2007, EPI writes. That means the wealthiest 1 percent held an average of 225 times the wealth of the average median household in 2009 a ratio that was 125 in 1962. Interestingly, just as Occupy Wall Street is bringing their grievances about this growing gap to a broader public, the Democratic Party is re-adjusting its definition of rich. As my colleague Lori Montgomery reports, Senate Democrats have ditched President Obamas plan to raise taxes on households who have more than $250,000 a year for a proposal to tax those who earn more than $1 million a year. Those who have a household income of $250,000 wouldnt fall in the top 1 percent. But those who have incomes of more than $1 million would at least outside New York City. *Update: This post was updated to clarify that the second and third paragraphs describe income floors the mininum amount at different percentiles not average income. The average income of the top 1 percent of US households in 2011 is $1,530,773, while the average income of the bottom 20 percent is $9,187, and the median income is $65,357, according to Jim Nunns, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute.

5 Facts You Should Know About the Wealthiest One Percent of Americans
October 4, 2011 |

It may shock you to learn exactly how wealthy this top 1 percent of Americans is.

As the ongoing occupation of Wall Street by hundreds of protesters enters its third week and as protests spread to other cities such as Boston and Los Angeles demonstrators have endorsed a new slogan: We are the 99 percent. This slogan refers to an economic struggle between 99 percent of Americans and the richest 1 percent of Americans, who are increasingly accumulating a greater share of the national wealth to the detriment of the middle class. It may shock you to learn exactly how wealthy this top 1 percent of Americans is. ThinkProgress has assembled five facts about this class of super-rich Americans: 1. The Top 1 Percent of Americans Owns 40 Percent of the Nations Wealth As Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz points out, the richest 1 percent of Americans now own 40 percent of the nations wealth. Sociologist William Domhoff illustrates this wealth disparity using 2007 figures where the top 1 percent owned 42 percent of the countrys financial wealth (total net worth minus the value of ones home). How much does the bottom 80 percent own? Only 7 percent.

As Stiglitz notes, this disparity is much worse than it was in the past, as just 25 years ago the top 1 percent owned 33 percent of national wealth. 2. The Top 1 Percent of Americans Take Home 24 Percent of National Income While the richest 1 percent of Americans take home almost a quarter of national income today, in 1976 they took home just 9 percent meaning their share of the national income pool has nearly tripled in roughly three decades. 3. The Top 1 Percent Of Americans Own Half of the Countrys Stocks, Bonds and Mutual Funds

The Institute for Policy Studies illustrates this massive disparity in financial investment ownership, noting that the bottom 50 percent of Americans own only .5 percent of these investments.

4. The Top 1 Percent Of Americans Have Only 5 Percent of the Nations Personal Debt Using 2007 figures, sociologist William Domhoff points out that the top 1 percent have 5 percent of the nations personal debt while the bottom 90 percent have 73 percent of total debt:

5. The Top 1 Percent are Taking In More of the Nations Income Than at Any Other Time Since the 1920s Not only are the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans taking home a tremendous portion of the national income, but their share of this income is greater than at any other time since the Great Depression, as the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities illustrates in this chart using 2007 data:

As Professor Elizabeth Warren has explained, There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. NobodyPart of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along. More and more often, that is not occurring, giving the protesters ample reason to take to the streets.