class warfare

How it possible that economic pie is getting bigger -- how can it be true that most Americans are getting smaller slices? The answer, of course, is that a few people are getting much, much bigger slices. Although wages have stagnated since Bush took office, corporate profits have doubled.

The gap between the nation's CEOs and average workers is now ten times greater than it was a generation ago. And while Bush's tax cuts shaved only a few hundred dollars off the tax bills of most Americans, they saved the richest one percent more than $44,000 on average. In fact, once all of Bush's tax cuts take effect, it is estimated that those with incomes of more than $200,000 a year -- the richest five percent of the population -- will pocket almost half of the money. In this Republican era, economic inequality is on the rise.

For the first time in our history, so much growth is being siphoned off to a small, wealthy minority that most Americans are losing ground even during a time of economic growth -- and they know it. CEO pay has soared -- from less than thirty times the average wage to almost 300 times the typical worker's pay. Those who benefit are playing class warfare card, not those of us who mention it.