99% v 1%: the data behind the Occupy movement - animation
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0:00 - 0:02We are the 99%
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0:02 - 0:07It’s the rallying cry of the occupy wall street protesters.
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0:07 - 0:11They say that a tiny minority controls America’s wealth.
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0:11 - 0:16How rich have the richest got? And how poor are the rest of us?
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0:16 - 0:20Is it really 99% versus the 1%?
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0:20 - 0:26The richest 1% of the US population own a third of US net worth.
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0:26 - 0:28So how did we get here?
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0:28 - 0:31When times were good everyone gained.
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0:31 - 0:45In Bill Clinton’s boom in 1993-2000 average incomes went up just like during George W. Bush boom in the beginning of his presidency and if you were rich you gained even more.
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0:45 - 0:53That’s nearly half of all the growth in the Clinton boom years; under George W. Bush it was even more.
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0:53 - 0:56And there are some really rich people in the US today.
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0:56 - 1:11In fact there are now over 3.1 million Millionaires but these are not the richest of all, the US has over 400 billionaires more than any other country in the world.
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1:11 - 1:26Who’s at the top of that pile? These three have a combined net worth of 131 billion dollars. That’s just over the combined budget short fall of every state in the US 2011.
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1:26 - 1:31More than the cost of the global war on terror in 2010.
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1:31 - 1:38But haven’t the rich lost out as well as the poor in the economic crash? When the economy tanked everyone suffered.
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1:38 - 1:49In 2010 the average American earned, $26, 487 dollars down over $2,000 dollars in real terms on 2006.
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1:49 - 2:01If you were poor its been an even bigger drop the 24 million least wealthy households in America saw there income go down 10%.
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2:01 - 2:13If you where super rich it went down too, the 400 wealthiest American households lost around 4% including inflation.
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2:13 - 2:17That’s down to an average of 270.5 million dollars per household.
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2:17 - 2:33So the richest lost 4% and the poorest lost 10%. Part of the reason average Americans have been hit so hard is where their wealth comes from, before the crash middle class American’s had 65% of their wealth tied up in their house.
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2:33 - 2:40But the richest 1% kept most of their wealth stocks and shares and business.
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2:40 - 2:40So when house prices went south many Americans found their wealth disappearing too.
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2:46 - 2:55Now one in every seven Americans lives below the poverty line that’s record 46.2 million people.
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2:55 - 3:00One in six American’s have no health insurance that’s 50 million people.
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3:00 - 3:09Of every 17 American’s at least one will be earning below the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
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3:09 - 3:2014.5% of American households are defined as food insecure that means for every 7 households one will have trouble putting enough food on the table.
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3:20 - 3:29But some things are doing very well sales of luxury cars are up, big luxury brands have reported their best sales figures in years
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3:29 - 3:37Tiffany jeweler up, brands like Loui Vuitton, brands like Gucci and Porsche.
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3:37 - 3:47And America’s top executives are paying themselves very well too it is down but still pretty good, $4.9 million dollars each in the latest figures.
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3:47 - 4:02And the Washington Post investigation found the following, since the 1970s median pay for the executives at the nations’ largest companies has more than quadrupled even after adjusting for inflation according to researchers.
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4:02 - 4:08Over the same period a typical non supervisory worker has dropped more than 10%.
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4:08 - 4:12But don’t the super rich pay taxes? They do.
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4:12 - 4:15Just not so much as the rest of us.
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4:15 - 4:24If you earn between $100,000- $200,000 dollars you will be paying up to 25% effective tax rate and that’s before payroll taxes kick in.
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4:24 - 4:33The 400 richest tax returns surveyed by the IRS paid just 18.1% in 2008.
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4:33 - 4:41And its gotten better for them in 2001 when Bush became president that rate was 21%
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4:41 - 4:48So is it 99% versus 1%? The richest 1% of the US own a third of US net worth.
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4:48 - 5:02But an even smaller group 0.01% are at a record high infact is it really 99.99% verus 0.01%
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5:02 -So where do you fit? Are you one of the 99.99% or are you part of the 0.01%?
- Title:
- 99% v 1%: the data behind the Occupy movement - animation
- Description:
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It has been the rallying cry of the Occupy movement for the past two months - but is the US really split 99% v 1%? As poverty and inequality reach record levels, how much richer have the rich got? This animation explains what the key data says about the state of America today
- Video Language:
- English
- Duration:
- 05:42
RaziKaneJones edited English subtitles for 99% v 1%: the data behind the Occupy movement - animation | ||
RaziKaneJones edited English subtitles for 99% v 1%: the data behind the Occupy movement - animation | ||
RaziKaneJones added a translation |