Inequality: It’s Even Worse Than We Thought – Bloomberg 06-13-12

The divide between the 1 percent and the 99 percent is usually is usually measured by incomes – even worse when measure by wealth.

Very wealthy people only have to pay income tax when they have to liquidate, which for most of the very rich is never. Any unrealized capital gains disappear for tax purposes on death. There is no estate tax on estates of $5.12 million or less.

Household wealth has been sinking for all categories of Americans. a drop of almost 40 percent for the median family over three years. while household savings were back to where they had been in the early 1990s. Most of the loss is due to the drop in household wealth is from the drop in housing prices.

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