Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Monday, October 06, 2014

The Walmart Heirs Are Worth More Than Everyone in Your City Combined

Everybody knows that middle-class incomes have stagnated while those of the richest Americans have skyrocketed, but the trend is even more pronounced when you look at the relative fortunes of the super-duper rich. Consider the Walmart heirs: Since 1983, their net worth has increased a staggering 6,700 percent.
According to a report released today by the union-backed Economic Policy Institute, here's how many American families earning the median income it would have taken to match the Waltons' wealth in a given year:
In 1983, the Walton family's net worth was $2.15 billion, equivalent to the net worth of 61,992 average American families, about the population* of...
Peoria, Arizona Hanroanu/Flickr
 
 
In 1989, the Walton family's net worth was $9.42 billion, equivalent to the net worth of 200,434 average American families, about the population of...
Albuquerque, New Mexico Len "Doc" Radin/Flickr

In 1992, the Walton family's net worth was $23.8 billion, equivalent to the net worth of 536,631 average American families, about the population of...
San Antonio. Texas Wells Dunbar/Flickr
 
 

In 1998, the Walton family's net worth was $48 billion, equivalent to the net worth of 796,089 average American families, about the population of...
The State of New Mexico Shoshanah/Flickr

In 2001, the Walton family's net worth was $92.8 billion, equivalent to the net worth of 1,077,761 average American families, about the population of...
Chicago, Illinois Conway Yao/Flickr

In 2010, the Walton family's net worth was $89.5 billion, equivalent to the net worth of 1,157,827 average American families, about the population of...
The State of Arkansas (pictured: Walmart visitors center in Bentonville) Walmart/Flickr
 

In 2013, the Walton family's net worth was $144.7 billion, equivalent to the net worth of 1,782,020 average American families, about the population of...
The State of Louisiana Jim Hobbs/Flickr

Correction: An earlier version of this article confused families with individuals, causing an under-estimate of how many individuals' net worth would equal that of the Waltons. Population equivalents in this story are based on the size of the average American family: 2.55 individuals.
Original Article
Source: motherjones.com/
Author:  Josh Harkinson

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