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Video: What the 99 Percent Is Fighting For

Three Factors that Contributed to the Creation of Two Americas

The Center for American Progress identifies three factors that contributed to the creation of two Americas: one for the top 1 percent and one for the rest of us.

The 99 percent movement is spreading, and their gripes are legitimate.

How did we get to a place where the richest 1 percent of Americans control 40 percent of the country’s wealth, own 50 percent of U.S.-owned stocks and bonds, and earn 24 percent of total income?

How indeed did we get to a place where the middle class is shrinking to the point that the share of income going to the middle-60 percent of Americans fell five percentage points in the last 30 years, and many millionaires pay less in taxes than their employees?

In this video, the Center for American Progress identifies three factors that contributed to the creation of two Americas: one for the top 1 percent and one for the rest of us.

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