Blog 11: The 99 Percent Spring and extreme Inequality

In the article The 99 Percent Spring and extreme Inequality, the author, Chuck Collins, is once again addressing that problem that has been occurring over the last four decades. That problem is the growing inequality among the classes in income, wealth, and opportunity. The richest one percent own over 36 percent of all the wealth in the United States, more that the net worth of the bottom 95 percent. Collins points out that as wealth becomes more concentrated it creates a political clout, meaning that the wealthier people have the power to use campaign contributions to rent politicians and tilt the rules of the economy in their favor. So, who makes up the one percent? The one percent is households that have an annual income of $500,000 or more and wealth exceeding $5 million. We live in a world that favors the one percent and with the Occupy Wallstreet movement they are working for a cause that will support not just the one percent, but the 100 percent.

                So many few people own the majority of wealth that the total combinations of the 99 percent will never see in their life. Which I find to be rather drastic. Collins makes a very good point that I have seen not many others make the connection. He says that the one percent has great control over the political mainstream, which is very true. They are the ones that help support candidates, they are the ones making donations to help keep campaigns running, they are really the backbone of the political world. With them having such great control over politics it keeps politicians that will support the needs of the one percent and not always the politicians that are looking out for the 100 percent.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chuck-collins/the-99-percent-spring-and_b_1395812.html