“plutocracy”—rule by the wealthy—with the New World Order.
Although the belief that an organized plutocracy controls the world has long been derided as merely a “conspiracy theory,” G. William Domhoff, a professor in psychology and sociology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has the statistics to prove its existence. Domhoff’s first book, Who Rules America?, was a controversial 1960s bestseller that argued that the United States is dominated by an elite political and economic ownership class.
Using updated figures, Domhoff stated in a posting: “In the United States, wealth is highly concentrated in a relatively few hands. As of 2007, the top 1 percent of households (the upper class) owned 34.3 percent of all privately held wealth, and the next 19 percent (the managerial, professional, and small business stratum) had 50.3 percent, which means that just 20 percent of the people owned a remarkable 85 percent, leaving only 15 percent of the wealth for the bottom 80 percent (wage and salary workers). In terms of financial wealth (total net worth minus the value of one’s home), the top 1 percent of households had an even greater share: 42.2 percent.”
Domhoff defined “total assets” as the gross value of owner-occupied housing plus other real estate owned by the household, cash and savings deposits, money market accounts, stocks and bonds, retirement plans, and other financial securities. He defined “total liabilities” as mortgage debt; consumer debt, including auto loans; and any other debt.
According to Domhoff, wealth distribution has been extremely concentrated throughout American history. During the nineteenth century, the top 1 percent of wealth owners owned 40 to 50 percent of assets in large port cities like Boston, New York, and Charleston. He said this disparity remained stable during the twentieth century, “although there were small declines in the aftermath of the New Deal and World War II, when most people were working and could save a little money. There were progressive income tax rates, too, which took some money from the rich to help with government services.
“Then there was a further decline, or flattening, in the 1970s, but this time in good part due to a fall in stock prices, meaning that the rich lost some of the value in their stocks,” wrote Domhoff. “By the late 1980s, however, the wealth distribution was almost as concentrated as it had been in 1929, when the top 1 percent had 44.2 percent of all wealth. It has continued to edge up since that time, with a slight decline from 1998 to 2004, before the economy crashed in the late 2000s and little people got pushed down again.”
Domhoff recorded that as of 2007, “income inequality in the United States was at an all-time high for the past 95 years, with the top 0.01 percent…receiving 6 percent of all U.S. wages, which is double what it was for that tiny slice in 2000; the top 10% received 49.7%, the highest since 1917.”
The numbers are even more shocking when viewed on a global scale. Using numbers from the World Institute for Development Economics Research, Domhoff concluded the top 10 percent of the world’s adults control about 85 percent of global household wealth. “That compares with a figure of 69.8 percent for the top 10 percent for the United States. The only industrialized democracy with a higher concentration of wealth in the top 10 percent than the United States is Switzerland at 71.3 percent,” he noted. At the same time, the U.S. government’s income is declining. According to the White House, 2008 individual income tax receipts were estimated at $1.168 trillion. Yet when tax receipts were tallied, the total was $155 billion less than that at $1.043 trillion.
Domhoff’s work presents a strong argument that wealth indeed equals power. Such power comes with the ability to donate to political parties, engage lobbyists, and provide grants to experts to think up new policies beneficial to
Although the belief that an organized plutocracy controls the world has long been derided as merely a “conspiracy theory,” G. William Domhoff, a professor in psychology and sociology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has the statistics to prove its existence. Domhoff’s first book, Who Rules America?, was a controversial 1960s bestseller that argued that the United States is dominated by an elite political and economic ownership class.
Using updated figures, Domhoff stated in a posting: “In the United States, wealth is highly concentrated in a relatively few hands. As of 2007, the top 1 percent of households (the upper class) owned 34.3 percent of all privately held wealth, and the next 19 percent (the managerial, professional, and small business stratum) had 50.3 percent, which means that just 20 percent of the people owned a remarkable 85 percent, leaving only 15 percent of the wealth for the bottom 80 percent (wage and salary workers). In terms of financial wealth (total net worth minus the value of one’s home), the top 1 percent of households had an even greater share: 42.2 percent.”
Domhoff defined “total assets” as the gross value of owner-occupied housing plus other real estate owned by the household, cash and savings deposits, money market accounts, stocks and bonds, retirement plans, and other financial securities. He defined “total liabilities” as mortgage debt; consumer debt, including auto loans; and any other debt.
According to Domhoff, wealth distribution has been extremely concentrated throughout American history. During the nineteenth century, the top 1 percent of wealth owners owned 40 to 50 percent of assets in large port cities like Boston, New York, and Charleston. He said this disparity remained stable during the twentieth century, “although there were small declines in the aftermath of the New Deal and World War II, when most people were working and could save a little money. There were progressive income tax rates, too, which took some money from the rich to help with government services.
“Then there was a further decline, or flattening, in the 1970s, but this time in good part due to a fall in stock prices, meaning that the rich lost some of the value in their stocks,” wrote Domhoff. “By the late 1980s, however, the wealth distribution was almost as concentrated as it had been in 1929, when the top 1 percent had 44.2 percent of all wealth. It has continued to edge up since that time, with a slight decline from 1998 to 2004, before the economy crashed in the late 2000s and little people got pushed down again.”
Domhoff recorded that as of 2007, “income inequality in the United States was at an all-time high for the past 95 years, with the top 0.01 percent…receiving 6 percent of all U.S. wages, which is double what it was for that tiny slice in 2000; the top 10% received 49.7%, the highest since 1917.”
The numbers are even more shocking when viewed on a global scale. Using numbers from the World Institute for Development Economics Research, Domhoff concluded the top 10 percent of the world’s adults control about 85 percent of global household wealth. “That compares with a figure of 69.8 percent for the top 10 percent for the United States. The only industrialized democracy with a higher concentration of wealth in the top 10 percent than the United States is Switzerland at 71.3 percent,” he noted. At the same time, the U.S. government’s income is declining. According to the White House, 2008 individual income tax receipts were estimated at $1.168 trillion. Yet when tax receipts were tallied, the total was $155 billion less than that at $1.043 trillion.
Domhoff’s work presents a strong argument that wealth indeed equals power. Such power comes with the ability to donate to political parties, engage lobbyists, and provide grants to experts to think up new policies beneficial to
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