
Senator Bernie Sanders -
Four facts:
One: The United States is in the middle of the worst economic downturn since the 1930s. More than 16 percent of working-age Americans are unemployed or underemployed. Long-term unemployment is the highest on record. Millions of people have lost their homes, savings and pensions.
Two: The United States today has a $13 trillion national debt and a record-breaking deficit. Last year alone, the federal government spent more than $186 billion just paying interest on the public debt.
Three: The United States has the most unequal distribution of wealth and income of any major country. Today, the top 1 percent of wage earners earn more income than the bottom 50 percent; and the top 1 percent has more wealth than the bottom 90 percent.
During the Bush administration, the middle class saw a $2,200 drop in median family income, down to slightly more than $50,000. Meanwhile, the 400 wealthiest families’ income more than doubled, while their effective income tax rates were slashed almost in half during the past 15 years. The wealthiest 400 Americans have accumulated $1.27 trillion in wealth, while the highest-paid 400 Americans had an average income of $345 million in 2007. As a result of Bush tax policy, they pay an effective income tax rate of 16.6 percent, the lowest on record. More...
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