Obama Didn't Spread the Wealth, He Concentrated It, Pew Study Finds

Investor's Business Daily ^ | 12/17/2014 | John Merline

[IBD editorial writer]

Here's more evidence of just how successful President Obama has been at "spreading the wealth around" since he took office.

A Pew Research Center report released on Wednesday found that the gap in net worth between the country's wealthy and the middle class reached record highs in 2013 -- the last year for which it has data.

According to Pew, which used data from the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances, upper-income median net worth in 2013 was 6.6 times greater than the median net worth of middle-income families ($639,400 vs. $96,500).

[babble-on]

Everything the Fed and the Administration and the Congress did to respond to the GFC was bound to act mostly on asset prices, and it’s wealthy people who own assets.

[sphinx]

People who own their own homes and have 401(k)'s, IRA's, or other financial assets will build wealth. People who don't, won't. The left's response to this is to drive up taxes on the saving and investing classes in order to increase welfare benefits to those who don't save. The right's response for a generation has been to push for greater inclusion of lower income people in wealth generating vehicles, private investment accounts with full ownership and inheritability in Social Security being the iconic example. This is the basic "wealth policy" issue in the U.S. today, and has been for many years. It is an argument we should win.

In fact, we do win it when the choices are clearly posed. If private investment accounts in SS were offered, there would be a mass exodus, and everyone knows it. The left lies to change the subject. That's the challenge.

On my optimistic days, I think that sooner or later someone with stature on the left will break ranks, and then the change may very well be rapid. The implicit tax imposed on lower income people by trapping them in SS is staggering. On the upside, nothing would do more to significantly change the distribution of wealth in this country than private investment accounts in SS, sustained for a couple of generations. If liberals really want to reduce wealth inequalities, this is an easy, and very powerful, place to start. The smarter ones know it, and they know that they are selling out the people they claim to champion in the interests of maintaining a politically useful lie. Sooner or later, someone will break free.

The same is true for school choice, but that's for another day.

[If You Want It Fixed - Fix It]

Semantics. He spread your money around to a few friendlies who spread some back, like an equally immoral orgy with your children’s money, the otherwise intended recipients of your money.

[MrB]

There’s a really interesting and enlightening book out called “Thou Shall Prosper”.

It has an interesting quote in it about how God has told his people throughout time that He has created a world of seemingly limited resources, and people with seemingly unlimited desires,
and if they will simply follow His way of doing things through voluntary ethical mutual cooperation, they’ll thrive and have everything they need.
But if they attempt another way, say, coercion or control by elites, they will suffer and ultimately fail.

The left, being “Humanist”, or thinking themselves to be God, demand that their way, in rebellion to God, work just as well (and it never has nor will).
But, they have earthly power (gov’t), and use it to try to MAKE it work - further to our detriment.

[randita]

ZIRP discourages present day savers and punishes those who have saved in the past. Many retirees who planned on living primarily off the interest on their savings have had to dip into principal. We were hoping to be retired by now, but would rather wait until we can live off interest until age 70 when we are required to pull principal.

The only people making real money on savings and investments are those who are in a position to hold a large % of stocks in their portfolios.

Middle class people who are approaching retirement or retired need to preserve their holdings and aren’t earning diddley squat on them.

I believe more people would save more if they were rewarded with a decent return on their savings. It’s been years since you could earn 5% on a savings account or CD. A .5% return doesn’t even keep up with inflation.

[Vaduz]

He had to repay Soros and pals back some how.

[SoothingDave]

Quinn’s First Law: Liberalism always generates the exact opposite of its stated intent.

[walford]

Collectivism favors the elites at the expense of everybody else.

Obamacare has made it so companies will keep employees’ hours below the 29-hour threshold. So people have to work multiple low-paying part-time jobs [with no benes] in order to somewhat make up for the good full-time jobs they had.

Essentially, this means that people are switching from 40-hour workweeks with healthcare to more hours for less pay for fewer or no benes. Before Obamanation, the majority of newly created jobs were full-time. Now they are part-time.

The percentage of working age adults who have jobs [labor participation rate] is the lowest it’s been since America was recovering from Jimmy Carter. Compare the number of unemployed Americans to the that of economic refugees who are here illegally. They are welcomed into this country by political interests who see them as fraudulent votes that can be bought with taxpayer-funded benes and economic interests that are addicted to cheap, exploitable labor.

All of this has been great for the stock markets as employers are are getting more work for less pay. Those who still have jobs are expected to do the work of the workers who were laid off or never hired in the first place, for no extra pay — and be grateful.

This is not compassion. This is not ‘social justice.’ This is a cruel, arrogant elite lording over a citizenry that is deliberately kept ignorant, impoverished and disenfranchised.