Rich Get Richer- Top 1%
Martin Armstrong, an economist, suggests in this blog post the reason for the rich-get-richer phenomenon relating to the top 1% of individuals controlling 99% of the nation’s wealth. He takes a different stance from popular held view that the top 1% somehow controls and oppresses the population. While it is true that the top 1% of individuals control more than an equitable amount of wealth, it is not due to them suppressing the rest of the population.
From Armstrong’s point of view, the government is responsible for the rich getting richer. Armstrong relates to his experience with Social Security. Armstrong played a part in transforming Social Security into a real investment account. Armstrong claims that money invested should have been in equities, but it wasn’t. Thus, the rich get richer by investments. This is related to the rich get richer phenomenon outlined in the book. Investments (or links) to preceding individuals (pages), continue to build, which results in the rich get richer process. Individuals who have already received more investments receive even more. Armstrong claims that if investments were made in equitable amounts, then the rich get richer process would not have occurred to the same magnitude. Armstrong has a strong opinion on this issue and seems to be directing this message to individuals who have more socialist views. Thus, this blog post should not be taken completely seriously. However, it offers an alternate outlook on how the 1% effect occurs rather than the conventional thought. It also dissects the rich get richer process in a very conventional, applicable sense.