Our Beloved Banana Republic

[kentuck]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/opinion/07kristof.html?ref=opinion

<snip>
In my reporting, I regularly travel to banana republics notorious for their inequality. In some of these plutocracies, the richest 1 percent of the population gobbles up 20 percent of the national pie.

But guess what? You no longer need to travel to distant and dangerous countries to observe such rapacious inequality. We now have it right here at home — and in the aftermath of Tuesday’s election, it may get worse.

The richest 1 percent of Americans now take home almost 24 percent of income, up from almost 9 percent in 1976. As Timothy Noah of Slate noted in an excellent series on inequality, the United States now arguably has a more unequal distribution of wealth than traditional banana republics like Nicaragua, Venezuela and Guyana.

C.E.O.’s of the largest American companies earned an average of 42 times as much as the average worker in 1980, but 531 times as much in 2001. Perhaps the most astounding statistic is this: From 1980 to 2005, more than four-fifths of the total increase in American incomes went to the richest 1 percent.

..........more

[eleny]

1. American exceptionalism - Now we're getting better at being worst

[scarletwoman]

2. Could you please fix your link? Right now it just goes to DU's posting page.

I'd love to read the whole piece and see who wrote it.

Thanks,
sw

[kentuck]

3. Sorry about that.

fixed

[scarletwoman]

6. Thank you!

[Swamp Rat]

4. k&r

[opihimoimoi]

5. and they still wanna get RICHER??? How greedy of them...and they invest in destroying Obama w Psyops

and bought/owned media...to fool the People? How Patriotic....Me before the Dumpster divers....

Let them eat "Cake" is it? They wanna cut the Unemployment Bennies killing future extensions...but they try to kill the Bush cut extension die date.

The Minions, the Brainwashed, the Dominated, etc., How easy was it to convince them that when voting RED...they are voting agaqinst their own interest...??

Cost of living goes up under Red Rule...Poverty Level escalating outta control...

Blue tents, homeless everywhere....its Dismal Drivel Time....

and yet, enough "Fooled" voted to continue the Bush Taz cuts to the richest...evidently...so they can get wealthier

[Mister Ed]

7. Time to start calling our opposing party what they are: the Banana Republicans! n/t

[scarletwoman]

8. K&R - excellent piece.

Thank you, Kentuck, and thank you, Nicholas Kristof.

sw

[RainDog]

9. this post relates

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=9506273&mesg_id=9508822

just to inject a little global reality into our banana republic status.