Mr Q-dog, if we are doing the usual "the-president-in-office-did-it-all" routine, then Obama must have sold his soul. Check this headline:
Best Times for the 1 Percent Since 1920s
From: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireS...2-us-income-20213135
"Economists point to several reasons for widening income inequality. In some industries, U.S. workers now compete with low-wage labor in China and other developing countries. Clerical and call-center jobs have been outsourced to countries such as India and the Philippines.
Increasingly, technology is replacing workers in performing routine tasks. And union power has dwindled. The percentage of American workers represented by unions has dropped from 23.3 percent in 1983 to 12.5 percent last year, according to the Labor Department.
The changes have reduced costs for many employers. That is one reason corporate profits hit a record this year as a share of U.S. economic output, even though economic growth is sluggish and unemployment remains at a high 7.2 percent."
Personally, I think the problem started 2 decades ago when our country decided to ship the smokestacks overseas. Trying to create an economy based on manipulating the value of paper while giving away the farm to China in a trade deal didn't help either.
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As stated in the article, a major reason for the large increase in income is investors cashed in stocks and bonds before the an increase in the capital gains tax. That's a one time revenue increase they won't see again.
A major reason for the decline in manufacturing began in the middle 1970s. Industries were used to being the big dog on the block as the US was the major surviving power from WWII with their industries unscathed and workforce not decimated by war. Companies begin to believe they could produce anything and consumers would have not alternative. The auto and steel industries were major offenders. US made cars from the mid-1970s were poorly designed and produced.
Meanwhile, in Germany and Japan, industries were forced to retool from scratch -- their factories were the most modern in the world. Between the German trait for engineering perfection and the Japanese idea of continuing improvement of a product and production facilities, the US was caught flat footed. In the late seventies, German and Japanese cars begin to out sell domestically produced cars. Foreign steel was imported at a much cheaper price.
The unions thought the gravy train would continue and got management to agree to increases in pay and benefits that were not sustainable. Nor, did the unions complain about the crappy products being produced. Plenty of blame to go around.