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The “pooring” of the rich

By Gerry W. Beyer

Money5According to Robert Frank, Why the Rich Are Losing Their Share of Wealth, The Wealth Report, WSJ.com, Oct. 22, 2008:

Economic populism is back, with attacks against inequality and the “greedy rich” back in style. But at the very moment that the public is outraged over the rich getting richer, the rich might actually be losing their share of the nation’s wealth.

Of course, the economic crisis is effecting all income and wealth groups. But if history is any guide, the proportion of national income and wealth held by the richest 1%–decried for years as being close to pre-Depression levels–probably will shrink markedly in coming months.

To understand why, Mr. Frank interviewed Emmanuel Saez, the income-share expert and economics professor at the University of California, Berkeley.  Read the article to learn Prof. Saez’s point-of-view.

Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.