Oxfam America's latest report illustrates the dramatic rise of inequality in the United States. Just in the past year, the bottom 10 billionaires made a staggering added combined wealth of $698 billion. This is not something new, it has been happening for decades, regardless of whether we have had a Republican or Democratic party in charge. Between 1989 and 2022, the wealth of the top 1% of households had grown 101 times faster than for middle class households, and 987 times faster than for families at the lowest end of the spectrum. When we break it down, the wealth of the richest families has increased by $8.35 million, while families in the middle only saw just under $83,000 more, and families at the poorest end only saw $8,500 more.
Currently, the top 0.1% of Americans owns 12.6% of the total wealth in the nation, and owns 24% of the stock market; whereas the bottom 10% of Americans own only 1.1% of the stock market. The poverty rate is similarly high, as more than 40% of Americans, including nearly 49% of children, are either poor or low income. The United States has the highest relative poverty rate among the major OECD economies, and holds the second highest level infant mortality. The "One Big Beautiful Bill Act", which was passed last summer, will be expected to widen the divide by resetting the tax burden, cutting taxes for the wealthiest Americans while most likely increasing taxes on the poor and middle class
According to Oxfam, a small billionaire wealth tax could raise approximately $414 billion for social programs and poverty alleviation. The report also calls for reforms to campaign finance, antitrust and taxation regulations to realign power and wealth in the U.S.
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