Income Gap Widens - The American Dream Is In Sweden

Income inequity has been a motivating factor for socialistic and communistic revolutions. Socialism is not necessarily bad, but it requires a higher level of altruism than many societies possess, and unscrupulous leaders have manipulated the system, resulting in totalitarian governments.
The rapid increase in inequity in the USA is making the country ripe for such a revolution.

Revolutions are caused by the intellectuals from the upper class, not the poor. The movement needs a strong and ruthless leader.

This news is not as significant as the fact that there is greater mobility between economic classes in the US...plenty of people here move up, and plenty of wealthy people screw up and end up at the bottom of the heap. Most successful people made multiple attempts before 'making it', having going broke repeatedly in between. The great thing about economic life here is not guaranteed outcome or comfort, but that with hard work, determination and/or luck, you just might hit it big.

Americans can't handle the truth. They have been sold a bill of goods that is driving most of them down. It's been well know for several decades that those societies with an active government and redistribute wealth and an educated workforce are the most successful societies. Meanwhile America races to join the ranks of the "banana" republics of the world. This election is a watershed, which way will it go?

Nevertheless, the US is still a country with opportunities for the poor. My father operated a laundry when I was growing up and he has saved for a house. I completed college with help from the GI Bill and through hard work and determination I broke the rank and became the CFO of $100 million company. And through the business cycles of up and down, I have not ever been unemployed. One just has to have goals in life and work hard to attain these goals.

That hard work may get you there is true, if you throw a little luck in with it. But having connections &/or a total lack of ethics will for sure get you there.

Sam,
You are talking about the past when greater opportunity existed, when the American Dream was much stronger. After 8 years, millions of Americans are now staring at the American Nightmare. My point was other countries are smarter and have better organized societies that allow for more opportunity than what we now have. Sure there are still opportunites to rise up from the bottom or the near bottom, but they are less and less. On the other hand, Americans seem to understand our country took a wrong turn and this election might be the beginning of the return for the Dream. We'll see.

Top wage earners earn $93,000 ? More like 93 million

The disparity of wages between rich and poor is only a small part of the poverty picture. America has a government that supports illegal immigration and lack of border security as a way of providing abundant cheap labor that benefits only business. Add to that the war our government has declaired on the middle class thru outsourcing of jobs, NAFTA, CAFTA and many other int'l trade treaties unfair to the American worker. The looting of pension funds and cancelation of medical benefits of retirees, unaffordable housing (both sales and rentals) unaffordable health care, poor care for our veterans, falling wages, the budget deficit, the trade deficit, the national debt, There is no money to fix roads and bridges, no money for schools, yet always enough money for corporate welfare, Always enough money for aggresive enforcement of traffic laws with photo equiped intersections, radar trailers, and always new police cars and motorcycles. The disparity of taxes between rich and poor due to 3 decades of deregulation with corporate munipulation of government leading to favorable laws, rules, judgements, interputations and decisions. High unemployment, high fuel and energy costs, raising food costs, rampant inflation, falling value of the US dollar, bankrupt of financially threatened state and local governments, abusive customer service by corporate America, big business lobbyst AKA legalized bribery of government officals, abusive use of imminant domain, a revolving door criminal justice system, and a government that shows utter contempt for the lower working class. Yet it would seen the only solution our government sees necessary is to bail out the billionaires, banks, corporations, and financial institutions that have caused this. As if unemployed people are lining up for car loans and homeless people are applying for home purchases.