Income of 400 richest Americans doubled during Bush era

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Income of 400 richest Americans doubled during Bush era

Jeremy Gantz
Published: Saturday January 31, 2009

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Richest_Americans_income_doubled_during_Bush_0131.html

The 21st century Gilded Age party really got going before the U.S. economy went bust.

It was a party disproportionately enjoyed the richest Americans, the 400 wealthiest of which actually doubled their share of all U.S. income between 1996 and 2006, new statistics released by the Internal Revenue Service show. The average income of those 400 people actually doubled to $263.3 million during the first six years of George W. Bush's presidency, according to the data.

Between 2005 and 2006, those 400 Americans saw their income rise nearly 23 percent, and through the first six years of the Bush administration their average tax rate fall by a third, to 17.2 percent, Bloomberg reported.

That 17.2 percent tax rate was the lowest the group has paid on average since the IRS began keeping track of the country's 400 biggest taxpayers in 1992, the agency's data shows.

[w4rma]

1. This is the primary reason the American economy has floundered.

'Free' trade and shipping off American jobs is part of how these people reaped their billions.

[OhioChick]

4. You're absolutely right.

Let's hope that our new President comes through for all of us with the "change" he promised.

[Clear Blue Sky]

2. What happened to these folks in the past year?

They must have given much of that back as the market tanked. Or worse if they invested with Madoff.

[Stargleamer]

3. That was their major goal

which they achieved without much opposition. Plutocracy is what they're aiming for.

[yodoobo]

5. Articles confuses income and wealth

Although I suppose at that level, it doesn't make that much difference.