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Eat the Rich The rich are richer than ever, but don't ask them for help By Tom Robbins Wednesday, Feb 2 2011 http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-02-02/columns/eat-the- rich?utm_source=Newsletters&utm_medium=email If you want a true picture of New York's current economic plight, take a look at a remarkable graph showing the share of income going to the top 1 percent of earners over the past 100 years. The chart is the product of the Fiscal Policy Institute, the labor-backed group that is one of the lone voices trying to be heard over the ever-growing roar demanding that wages and benefits for workers be knocked down as low as possible... The numbers on the chart show that nationally, America's top earners are now taking in 24 percent of the income, back to where they were just before their gluttony crashed Wall Street in 1929. But they are pikers compared to New York. Our state's most privileged class holds 35 percent of the dough. Here in the city, the fat cats do even better, with a whopping 44 percent. This is why New York State ranks last in terms of the income gap between rich and poor. And it is why New York City is the most polarized of the nation's 25 biggest urban areas. "If New York City were a nation," reports James Parrott, economist for the institute, "its level of income concentration would rank 15th worst among 134 countries, between Chile and Honduras. Wall Street," he adds, "with its stratospheric profits and bonuses, sits within 15 miles of the Bronx—the nation's poorest urban county." to read the rest of this column, and access the graphics mentioned, go to http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-02-02/columns/eat-the- rich?utm_source=Newsletters&utm_medium=email ___________________________________________ Portside aims to provide material of interest to people on the left that will help them to interpret the world and to change it. Submit via email: [log in to unmask] Submit via the Web: http://portside.org/submittous3 Frequently asked questions: http://portside.org/faq Sub/Unsub: http://portside.org/subscribe-and-unsubscribe Search Portside archives: http://portside.org/archive Contribute to Portside: https://portside.org/donate