Archives: December 2011

Sympathy for the Successful: Billionaires Bite Back

Posted by: Dan Beucke on December 21

A story from Bloomberg's Max Abelson yesterday noted the opening of a media counter-offensive by the 1 percent against what many of them believe are unwarranted attacks on wealth,...

Timely Retirements, Outrageous Bonuses, and Other Epic Executive Handouts

Posted by: Dan Beucke on December 21

Experienced financial reporters know that the best dirt on executive excess isn't found in a press release or annual report, but gets buried deep in routine reports corporations file...

The Wealth Watch: 10 Must-Read Links

Posted by: Dan Beucke on December 18

Occupy Rome: Roman Empire more equal than the U.S. (Marginal Revolution) "Story ends badly": China's Local Government Debts Dwarf Official Data (Bloomberg) Feel-good story: Anonymous donors pay off Kmart...

China's Wealth Disparity Erupts in Wukan Protests

Posted by: Dan Beucke on December 16

The Occupy Wall Street protests in the U.S. are a delayed reaction to a bursting property bubble, which led to a jobs crisis and rising anger over financial influence...

Bonuses Dive, Stocks Tank: Goodbye Income Gap?

Posted by: Dan Beucke on December 14

2011 is ending with a clunk for Masters of the Universe. Charlie Gasparino of Fox Business just Tweeted: "Sources at BOFA's Merrill unit say execs are bracing for some...

The Great Compression: How War And Taxes Made Us All Middle Class, And Why That's Changed

Posted by: Mark Gimein on December 14

Last week, my colleague Dan Beucke wrote about the latest work of economists Thomas Picketty, Emmanuel Saez, and Stefanie Stantcheva, who presented a case for top tax rates as...

Welcome to the Income-Gap Capital of the U.S.A.

Posted by: Dan Beucke on December 12

At the height of the Occupy Wall Street protests, some critics pointed out that the lower-Manhattan camp was misplaced in that it missed the real seats of financial power:...

Lexus Christmas Commercials and Wealth Envy

Posted by: Dan Beucke on December 12

Pity the folks at Team One, the unit of ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi that works the Lexus account. Each year they have to come up with new ways...

The Wealth Watch: 10 Must-Read Links

Posted by: Dan Beucke on December 10

Occupy campus recruiting: An Orange and Black Eye for 2 Banks (DealBook) From a rich American: Rich People Don't Create Jobs (Blodget, Business Insider) Post-grads' lament: Trapped by $50,000...

Top Income Tax Rate: How's 83% Sound?

Posted by: Dan Beucke on December 09

This should get Grover Norquist up off the couch: a paper by a prominent team of economists says the tax rate for top U.S. earners could be hiked to...

Obama: I Don't Hate the Millionaire Next Door

Posted by: Dan Beucke on December 07

Here's one way to interpret President Obama's speech yesterday in Osawatomie, Kansas: It's his attempt to tie together the loose-knit complaints of the 99% -- against wealth accumulation by the...

Corporate Profits Recover, Taxes Not So Much

Posted by: Dan Beucke on December 07

As the election cycle turns up the heat on the wealth debate, look for companies to argue that any corporate tax hike will be a vote against U.S. job...

No Tents = No Cameras = No Audience = No Occupy

Posted by: Mark Gimein on December 07

Three weeks ago, when New York City evicted the protesters from Zuccotti Park, it was not immediately clear what the outcome of the raid would be. I wrote in...

Tuesday Morning Wealth Watch

Posted by: Dan Beucke on December 06

Ask the birds: What makes a rogue trader? (FT, HT/The Big Picture) Hurt feelings?: It's Tone, Not Taxes, a Tycoon Tells Obama (Dealbook, NY Times) It's a Wonderful Lie:...

The Income Gap Grows -- As Does the Spouse Gap

Posted by: Dan Beucke on December 05

The gap between rich and poor is growing, and not just in the U.S. The latest report on the topic from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development tells...

Monday Morning Wealth Watch

Posted by: Dan Beucke on December 05

Advice from the 1%: Lever Up, Drop Out (Lewis, View) Powerball payoff: Hedge fund lottery winners donate $1M for veterans (AP) Black college major choices: 'Opting Out' (Inside Higher...

Weekend Wealth Watch

Posted by: Dan Beucke on December 03

Jobs and 2012: Democrats, GOP Seize on Competing Narratives (NY Times) Why 8.6%=bad news: A Note on the Unemployment Rate Drop (Brad DeLong) 8% more to go: Home Prices...

Black Friday Shoppers: Not as Poor as You Thought

Posted by: Dan Beucke on December 02

The Black Friday shopper may be wealthier than we thought. A week ago, I posed the question of whether there is a class divide between those who hit the...

Friday Morning Wealth Watch

Posted by: Dan Beucke on December 02

Surprise: U.S. Jobless Rate Unexpectedly Declines to 8.6% (Bloomberg) Finding Community at OWS: All the Angry People (New Yorker) Don't say "capitalism": Teaching the GOP to talk about OWS...

Thursday Morning Wealth Watch

Posted by: Dan Beucke on December 01

Occupied on the inside: On Wall Street, Some Express Quiet Outrage (DealBook) Young Analyst To 99%: 'The Finance Industry Is A Complete Scam' (Business Insider) Forget job creators: The...