Sunday, February 26, 2017

Private Equity's Growth Impacted Incomes for 1%

The least readable line in the CBO graph is the one showing the income growth of the top 1% of Americans.  It's the faint blue line showing a rising series of peaks and higher valleys.  The other 99% of Americans are in a darker series of flat lines with a very slight incline.

Can you make out the number at the end of the light blue top 1%  line?  I bolded it in red for those who can't see the richest American's income grew 192%.  

I added the founding dates of top private equity underwriters, the people getting the massive income growth while enacting strategies that held down pay for the other 99%, at least those employed by PEU owned companies.
Private equity underwriters became ubiquitous the last two decades.  Their growth continues:

Private equity multiplied like a virus which eroded incomes in the wider economy.  It also turned America's two party system into one, where political parties Red and Blue love PEU.

Most of the country lives in a financial flood plain where economic shocks can quickly put many underwater.  The top 1% keep getting to higher and higher ground.  They'll be warm and dry when the next crisis of their own making comes around.

Update 3-3-17:   Wealth grew for those at the top starting in 2000 while employment conditions in the U.S. remain bleak.

Update 3-4-17:  The great wealth transfer to members of the Government-Corporate Monstrosity continues unabated.

Update 3-14-17:  Wages for ordinary workers aren't growing.


Update 4-2-17:  These trends occurred under 16 years of Blue Team White House (Clinton and Obama) and 20 years of Red Team Presidents (Reagan, Bush 1 and Bush 2).  Both Political Houses aligned their parties with the PEU class.

Update 4-15-17:   Carlyle's Sandra Horbach described how our world became PEU.