Wealth, Poverty and Power

In the 1980s, the rich got richer and the poor got poorer. That’s a fact, not a slogan. The decade of greed saw the greatest accumulation of wealth in history. According to Forbes, the conservative magazine, the combined net worth of the 400 richest Americans increased three times. A Brookings study showed that the top 1% had increased their share of national income from 8 to 15%. The number of millionaires and billionaires tripled. While the upper crust thrived, the rest of the population did not fare so well.