Report: Top 1% Getting Exponentially Richer
WASHINGTON (WWJ) - In more evidence that the rich keep getting richer, a new report shows income growth for the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans nearly tripled between 1979 and 2007, far outpacing gains for all other income groups.
Michigan Congressman Sander Levin told CNBC the report from the Congressional Budget Office simply confirms what the Americans already know.
"About 55 percent of income growth has gone to the top 1 percent and 88 percent to the top 10 percent while the middle class has essentially been standing still," said Levin. "That's why you have, in part, the unrest in this country, because a lot of people feel they haven't been getting their fair share working hard."
- View a copy of the report (.pdf format) -
Levin said it's clear that unfair tax policies of the last decade have favored the rich.
"With Wall Street, I think showing that there needs to be some regulation. It can't run wild as it has in recent years," he said. "We need to have sensible programs so that everybody bears responsbility. That hasn't been happening in our country."
The report is likely to figure in the debate over whether high income earners should pay more to cut the deficit and reduce the national debt.
