“My point was that the wealthiest plutocrats now actually control a greater share of the pie in the United States than in historically unstable countries like Nicaragua, Venezuela and Guyana. But readers protested that this was glib and unfair, and after reviewing the evidence I regretfully confess that they have a point.
“That’s right: I may have wronged the banana republics.”
One percent of Americans control about 24% of our income. One percent of Americans own 34% of our private net worth. The top 10 percent control more than 70% of our private net worth.