[PEN-L:122] Re: The Left and Inequality

[Doug Henwood <dhenwood@xxxxxxxxx>]

Robert Naiman wrote:

>I have been reading Alec Nove's "Economics of Feasible Socialism Revisited"
>and came across his argument that the Left is misguided when it puts too
>much emphasis on the wealth of the super-rich, on the grounds that
>redistributing the wealth or income of the super-rich will not go very far.


According to the Fed's 1995 Survey of Consumer Finances, the top 1/2% of
the U.S. wealth distribution had a net worth of $5.7 trillion, out of a
total household net worth of $20.5 trillion. If their $5.7 trillion were
divided among that year's 99 million households, it would yield $57,000 per
household. If the entire top 10%'s wealth - $14 trillion - were divided
evenly, it would yield $141,000 per household. Now I know that a lot of
that "wealth" would disappear if you tried to expropriate it (where would
the S&P be if economic policy were turned over to PEN-Lers?), but, still,
that ain't chump change.

Doug