Tech Rich Get Richer

theodp writes "The economy is improving, at least for the super rich. After two years of declines, the aggregate net worth of the U.S.'s wealthiest 400 citizens leapt 10% in the past year to $995 billion, according to Forbes' annual ranking. The gains are part of a continuing shift in wealth from the East coast to the tech-centric West. Bill Gates capped off a decade in the top spot after his fortune increased by $3B to $46B. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen held onto 3rd place, his net worth rising $1B to $22B. Amazon's Jeff Bezos, who saw his fortune expand by more than $3B to $5.1B, was the top gainer on the list. And with a measly $1.4B, Jerry Yang of Yahoo! found himself in a 16-way tie for 162nd place."

Comments

Why do you think Bush gave them tax cuts?

[HanzoSan]

You people act surprised to see that suddenly the rich are richer! Well they pay less taxes so of course they are richer! This is the whole point behind the tax cuts for the rich!

What did you people think would happen? That the rich would actually start spending because you gave them alittle more money?

Re:Why do you think Bush gave them tax cuts?

[Sanction]

communistic

That word you keep using, I do not believe it means what you think it means.

As to the point of fair, it most certainly is. The rich benefit _far_ more from everything from trade policies to custom loopholes in tax codes to the basic protections of civilization than the middle and lower classes do. Taxes are an attempt to redress the inherent inequalities of our current laws surrounding real and intellectual property, labor rights, and the inexpensive use of public land for corporate profit. The alternative for the rich is actual competition without government favoritism or protections and threats in international negotiations, which they would rather avoid.

Notice how everyone whines about the taxes here, but they all live here after offshoring their entire companies.