This article was originally published by Tyler Durden at ZeroHedge.
In some ways, we sympathize with Neel Kashkari’s concern about the unprecedented wealth inequality that has emerged in the US in recent years and which has resulted in a slow, methodical and relentless destruction of the US middle class … or rather make that precedented because there was another time when the top 0.1% had amassed as much wealth and it was just before the Great Depression.
After all, who hasn’t seen charts such as these showing the tremendous divergence in income earned by America’s Top 1% at the expense of the middle and lower classes:
… up 10% from the 60% of wealth they controlled at the start of the century.
Yet we find Kashkari’s “jaw-dropping” virtue signaling proposal to grant the Fed wealth redistribution power not only laughable but absolutely terrifying: after all, it was the Fed’s ZIRP and QE that was behind the greatest wealth redistribution in the past decade…
… a redistribution that started almost 50 years ago, when Nixon decided to end the Fed’s biggest nemesis – the US gold standard – launching an unprecedented increase in income growth for the “Top 1%”, even as the income of the “Bottom 90%” has remained unchanged ever since 1971.
For those confused, Rabobank’s Michael Every put it best: of course, the Fed can redistribute wealth but “that redistribution has been from the poor and middle-class to the rich, not the other way round.”
And so, over a decade after the start of the biggest monetary and wealth redistribution experiment in history intermediated by the world’s central banks, we find ourselves in a place where Deutsche Bank writes that at the very top of its Top 20 risks for 2020 is none other than the “continued increase in wealth inequality, income inequality, and healthcare inequality.”
Why is Deutsche Bank concerned? Because there are two distinct points in history when wealth was as unequally distributed – the last time was just before the Great Depression (see top chart). The time before that? Right before the French revolution, as a result of which most of the French “Top 1%” at the time lost their heads, so to speak.
To be sure, the issue of wealth and income inequality is shaping up as the most sensitive topic not only during the Democratic primary race but the entire 2020 presidential race, with one of the most salient questions emerging who can tax the richest the most.
Unfortunately, as we are about to show, it may already be too late to fix the US: as the following stunning chart shows, the US is already effectively a banana republic if one defines such a nation as one which has a small but ultrapowerful and unaccountable kleptocracy which gets richer year after year by stealing from the rapidly shrinking middle class.
Here is the problem: while the US has one of the highest median incomes in the entire world, with only three countries boasting a higher income, it is who gets to collect this money that is the major problem, because as the chart also shows, with just a 50% share of the population in middle-income households, the US is now in the same category as such “banana republics” as Turkey, China and, drumroll, Russia.
What is just as stunning: according to the OECD, more than half of the countries in question have a more vibrant middle class than the US.
So the next time someone abuses the popular phrase “they hate us for our [fill in the blank]”, perhaps it’s time to counter that “they” may not “hate” us at all, but rather are making fun of what has slowly but surely become the world’s biggest banana republic?
And it has not Russia, nor China, nor any other enemy, foreign or domestic, to blame… except for one: the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States.
It Took 22 Years to Get to This Point
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Sure is!!! Try posting here? LOL
Sure is!!! Try posting here? LOL this site is done!
You once had a good site, Mac. Although I picked up more information from the posters than the articles, it was great while it lasted.
Now that everyone has pretty much abandoned the site and you’ve plastered pop up ads before and after each article and there are only a few posts now, what’s next? “Page Not Found”? It won’t bother me in the least.
Once you aligned with amazon and stopped the occasional dialog with us, (the supporters of the site), it was the beginning of the end.
One by one the site veterans dropped off. Keep churning out articles that no one reads anymore or comments on. Maybe amazon will buy the site if it hasn’t already.
“This web site thrives because of it’s community.”
Really? What community?
This site has lost its Mojo.
Enjoyed the old crew immensley.
Those from the days of Eppe will understand and quietly fade into the shadows.
My first impression is that there is no largess or surplus, per se.
The lower levels were being wrung, for every drop in the bucket.
Howdy Y’All,
Completely OT here, a PSA as it were.
There are only a minimum number of active petroleum refineries currently in the US as the Oil comoanies have discivered that by taking multiple of those off-line simultaneously they can cry-baby that refinery capacity is limited and so keep the prices of distillates artuficially high.
That said, a massive explosion at a Texas refinery occured this morning, which is being reported as having broken windows up to 90 miles away. I would heartily recommend getting out today or tomorrow to ‘top off’ whatever you’re short on; the retail sector has gotten real savvy about jacking prices up on news like this VERY quickly in response, aka “Gouging”.
Happy Thanksgiving to all, be well, safe and Blessed.
JOG
We have an institutionalized deep state control of gov’t, society, and all other institutions, a two-tier system of justice, institutionalized official corruption, hyper concentration of wealth, declining standard of living, constant wars, invasive spying on citizens, continuous erosion of our Constitutional rights, horrible gov’t, growing police state, virtually unchecked illegal immigration, and on and on.
There is only one way to fix it – bust up the country, let states form new nations based on the region they are in. This will break the back of empire, and eliminate the current centralized deep state control of official power, finance, economy, resources, media, etc.
Another great article by Tyler Durden. Many Americans do NOT realize how effective TAXES are in shaping behavior. TAX things you want to remove or reduce. DON’T TAX things you want to thrive or increase. This govt. tool to shape our society is insidious and sneaks into our lives to pay for many things we do NOT support. How many citizens would vote for a lifetime 100% pension for congressmen after only 2 years of service? NOT ME. Who thinks it is right for citizens that do NOT believe in abortion to PAY for abortions? NOT ME.
Please take care to vote for LIBERTY and report illegal voting.
it has been a banana republic for a while, probably a year into the Obama years or maybe even before by that measurement.
its a little silly and depressing at the same time to watch the fox talk heads and radio talk heads go on every day and tlak about taking a stand here and now is time to reverse. sorry, we are past that time. after 50 years of unchecked immgration, so many swing states are going to become democrat by 2024 or 2028; whatever the democratic party is; it will rule the country from there on out. just like rome didn’t know they were beginning the decline, most cannot see it in the usa; but that’s in the initial phases now and will not be reversed.
unfortunately, this is not all Obama’s fault as most started before him. I would probably lay the blame at the feet of bush jr. with 9-11 and the 2001 recession, he really had an opportunity to close the border, end letting muslims in, start reducing spending and continuing to make the welfare class work that got started with the 1994 congress and Clinton.
enjoy the last laps around the track with trump, that’s about what we have left.
Thoughtful insights cougar. Unfortunately, I believe the downward slide of our nation began more than 100 years ago. The Wilson presidency brought us the Federal Reserve, income taxes, and other repugnant aspects of our Federal Government. Add to that the takeover of American public schools & universities and the foundation for communist/socialist change was complete.
It took a long time for the “subversives” to entrench themselves in our Federal Government, it will take a while to DRAIN THE SWAMP.
“It” has been ever since “they” (the United States) began to be called “it”.