USA Today is reporting that we are near the tipping point where the top 1% of all of the rich people are richer than the rest of us combined.  This is not an economic system that's good for anyone, other than that 1%.  It also means it's even harder for the poorest of the poor.

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One thing that keeps this trend going is the perception, somewhere in the back of your mind, that someday you may amass great wealth and you wouldn't want anyone to mess with it. It's time to get over that thought. There is also the idea of "fairness", the idea that "hey, they earned it, let them keep it".  If they spent it, that might be okay, but instead they hoard it, leaving those dollars uncirculated through the economy. Worst of all, that kind of money is often protected by off-shore bank accounts, tax incentives and other legal, but patently unfair bits of skullduggery.

I have great respect for this current generation. They tend to need very little. They don't necessarily want a giant room full of c.d.s or the shiniest new car. They tend to be happy with songs on the cloud and a decent ride.  It just seems that every generation that follows get less and less and that trend needs to be reversed before the middle class is erased entirely.

The richest 1% could avoid an uprising very simply. They could start paying better wages and investing back more of their wealth. Instead we're playing that game of "he who has the most toys wins".  It's time to tax those who hoard great wealth. It's time to close down the tax loopholes and the incentives that go to the top 1%.  Once again, we're not even talking about simple millionaires here, but the people who are above that, the people who could never spend all of their money in a couple of lifetimes.  This is no longer a matter of "fairness" to the uber-rich, but a necessary step to prevent the collapse of the worlds economies.

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