Americans live in a plutonomy

It has been proposed that the United States is not truly a capitalist county, but instead a “plutonomy.” Plutonomy is a portmanteau of plutocracy and economy, and it means that the American economy is run and owned by the richest of the rich. Some individuals insist the U.S. economy was that way to begin with. Recent figures indicate that the richest few are what have driven any relative improvements within the economy. Source of article – Economists suggest the United States has become a plutonomy by Personal Money Store.

Even cartoon dogs wouldn’t like living in a plutonomy

What the term plutonomy implies is the economy is driven by and depends on a small number of the wealthiest individuals. There is reason to think any “improvements” during the recession have everything to do with the spending habits of the richest few. The Wall Street Journal reported on the findings of Moody’s of consumer spending patterns. Within the last 20 years, 37 percent of all consumers spending was from the richest 5 percent. The bottom 80 percent only spent about 40 percent. The richest 10 percent make about half the income of the U.S.

The numbers work

As of 2006, 10 percent of the nation holds 70 percent of the wealth, as outlined by a Federal Reserve study by Arthur Kennickell. That means for each dollar of value in the sum total of all non-public assets of the United States, 90 percent of the population owns only 30 cents worth. The trickle Reagan talked about was no trickle going down; it was a tsunami going upwards.

Of, by, and for the rich

It has been suggested by some historians for instance Howard Zinn, among others, the American Founding Fathers were all the richest men in the nation. The commoners were less affected by British taxes than the rich were. Thus, they revolted and established a nation in which they would enjoy an oligarchy of advantage. No less than James Madison estimated only a 3rd of Americans were in favor of the Revolution. Republics inherently favor the growth of aristocracy and oligarchies. If there is a universal predictor of the collapse of a society, it is the wealthiest few taking economic ownership of the numerous.

Additional reading

online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748703988304575413432696177258.html

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth_inequality_in_the_United_States

federalreserve.gov/pubs/feds/2006/200613/200613pap.pdf – PDF, needs Adobe Reader