The "Hard-Working" Rich | Republicans for Obama

The "Hard-Working" Rich | Republicans for Obama: "The "Hard-Working" Rich
By Suzi LeVeaux - Posted on 20 August 2011

For those who are so quick to loudly defend the wealthy, preferring to call them "the successful" while not even offering a whisper for the plight of the poor:

All wealth in America comes from two sources: Lifetime earnings and savings, and inheritance. Larry Summers and Laurence Kotlikoff analyzed these two sources of wealth and figured out the percentages that came from each.

Only 19 percent came from earnings and savings. The rest- 81 percent- comes from inheritance. Their conclusion: "The pure life-cycle component of aggregate U.S. savings is very small. American capital accumulation results primarily from intergenerational transfers."

In other words, the VAST majority of the wealthy in this country are wealthy because they INHERITED their wealth. The vast majority of the wealthy in America haven't "earned" their "success" by hard work. They've inherited it. That doesn't make them successful. It makes them LUCKY.

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