What the Occupy Wall Street protestors are angry about – in charts

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Henry Blodget has a must-read article at Business Insider which explains Here's What The Wall Street Protesters Are So Angry About… in charts:

So, what are the protesters so upset about, really?

Do they have legitimate gripes?

To answer the latter question first, yes, they have very legitimate gripes.

And if America cannot figure out a way to address these gripes, the country will likely become increasingly "de-stabilized," as sociologists might say. And in that scenario, the current protests will likely be only the beginning.

The problem in a nutshell is this: Inequality in this country has hit a level that has been seen only once in the nation's history, and unemployment has reached a level that has been seen only once since the Great Depression. And, at the same time, corporate profits are at a record high.

In other words, in the never-ending tug-of-war between "labor" and "capital," there has rarely—if ever—been a time when "capital" was so clearly winning.

Blodget then tells the story with a series of charts:

Let's start with the obvious: Unemployment. Three years after the financial crisis, the unemployment rate is still at the highest level since the Great Depression (except for a brief blip in the early 1980s)

S-after-the-financial-crisis-the-unemployment-rate-is-still-at-the-highest-level-since-the-great-depression-except-for-a-brief-blip-in-the-early-1980s

Jobs are scarce, so many adults have given up looking for them. Thus, a sharp decline in the "participation ratio."

Jobs-are-scarce-so-many-adults-have-given-up-looking-for-them-thus-a-sharp-decline-in-the-participation-ratio

And it's not like unemployment these days is a quick, painful jolt: A record percentage of unemployed people have been unemployed for longer than 6 months.

Nd-its-not-like-unemployment-these-days-is-a-quick-painful-jolt-a-record-percentage-of-unemployed-people-have-been-unemployed-for-longer-than-6-months

And it's not just construction workers who can't find jobs. The median duration of all unemployment is also near an all-time high.

And-its-not-just-construction-workers-who-cant-find-jobs-the-median-duration-of-all-unemployment-is-also-near-an-all-time-high

That 9% rate, by the way, equates to 14 million Americans—people who want to work but can't find a job.

That-9-rate-by-the-way-equates-to-14-million-americanspeople-who-want-to-work-but-cant-find-a-job

And that's just people who meet the strict criteria for "unemployed." Include people working part-time who want to work full-time, plus some people who haven't looked for a job in a while, and unemployment's at 17%.

Unemployed-include-people-working-part-time-who-want-to-work-full-time-plus-some-people-who-havent-looked-for-a-job-in-a-while-and-unemployments-at-17

Put differently, this is the lowest percentage of Americans with jobs since the early 1980s (And the boom prior to that, by the way, was from women entering the workforce).

This-is-the-lowest-percentage-of-americans-with-jobs-since-the-early-1980s-and-the-boom-prior-to-that-by-the-way-was-from-women-entering-the-workforce

So that's the jobs picture. Not pretty.

So-thats-the-jobs-picture-not-pretty

And now we turn to the other side of this issue… the Americans for whom life has never been better. The OWNERS.

Continue reading with a lot more charts at CHARTS: Here's What The Wall Street Protesters Are So Angry About…

One final chart that sums up wealth inequality:

So what does all this mean in terms of net worth? Well, for starters, it means that the top 1% of Americans own 42% of the financial wealth in this country. The top 5%, meanwhile, own nearly 70%.

S-of-net-worth-well-for-starters-it-means-that-the-top-1-of-americans-own-42-of-the-financial-wealth-in-this-country-the-top-5-meanwhile-own-nearly-70