Stiglitz on the top one percent

In a Vanity Fair article, economist Joseph Stiglitz writes of the enormous, and growing, inequality between what the top 1% of Americans earn (and are worth) versus the other 99%. He proceeds to cite the reasons this yawning chasm is detrimental not just to the nation as a whole, but also to those extraordinarily wealthy people themselves.

The article is bound to stir up accusations of class warfare among those who feel the rich are the only remaining group it is permissible to demonize, but this statistic is hard to wave away:

The upper 1 percent of Americans are now taking in nearly a quarter of the nation’s income every year. In terms of wealth rather than income, the top 1 percent control 40 percent. Their lot in life has improved considerably. Twenty-five years ago, the corresponding figures were 12 percent and 33 percent.

(Thanks to The Browser for the link.)