A recent analysis reveals that nearly $80 trillion has been redistributed from America's bottom 90% to the top 1% over the last 50 years, exacerbating wealth inequality. The 2023 figures show that $3.9 trillion was taken from the working class, enough to give each worker a $32,000 raise. This widening wealth gap is attributed to neoliberal economic policies dating back to the 1970s, further polarizing the nation’s income distribution and indicating potential future increases in inequality as billionaires gain more control.
In a new analysis published last month by RAND extending the analysis to 2023, RAND found that that figure is now $79 trillion in 2023 dollars, with inflation accounting for roughly $10 trillion of the growth.
Sen. Bernie Sanders highlighted that $3.9 trillion was redistributed from the bottom 90 percent to the top 1 percent in 2023, enough to give every worker a raise of $32,000 per year.
The massive growth in the wealth gap has been fueled by the steadily falling share of economic growth going to the working class since the 1970s, amid the rise of neoliberalism.
This calculation was based on the growth of the bottom 90 percent in the decades after World War II, when income distribution held steady between groups.
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