In the U.S., the gap between rich and poor is wider than it has been since the 1920s. The top 1% own 42% of the nation's wealth and on average made $717,000 per year from 2008-2012 compared to $53,046 for everyone else. While the financial crisis of 2008 may have hurt all of us somewhat, the 1% reaped 95% of all income gains since that time.Few mention this manifested under two Democratic and one Republican President(s), while the Roaring Twenties had three Republican Presidents. Thus, governing factors contributing to inequality are bipartisan in nature.
Even fewer mention the rapid ascendance of private equity underwriters, beginning in earnest with the Clinton I years, then exploding under Bush II. PEUs are now ubiquitous, so much so, it's hard to find anyone advising or contributing to the White House without a PEU tie.
America has a bifurcated system by design. Politicians and PEUs, virtual nonprofits, gave it to us. Act by act, sleaze by sleaze, greed by greed. Face it. They don't like to share power or money. But they need a compliant populace for both.
As for the author of the Fortune article, he's a private equity underwriter. How did he contribute to the race to the bottom on worker pay/benefits, taxes and regulation during the three headed Clinton-Bush-Obama Presidency?
