Fox Business
Expand
Browse All Video
Watch Live

You're watching...

Wealthy People Propping Up America?

Details

  • Description

    Author Robert Frank discusses the role of the wealthy in social entitlements.

  • Duration 3:59
  • Date

Clips

Also in this playlist...

Latest Video

Auto-advance: ON

Auto-advance
View All

Transcript

This transcript is automatically generated

Price of oil let's get back to entitlement nation that week on -- From a Franken would.

He is off all of richest staff all right rubble welcome back -- -- -- bigger now look that the left says that are too many entitlements for the rich.

But do the rich.

Feel entitled.

To that wealth do that.

Well you know 85%.

Or more of today's wealthy made it themselves they did it mostly by starting companies and selling those companies.

Or working for a publicly traded company that has stock.

So they certainly earned it when you talk about makers and takers in this country let's step back and look at the real picture.

Which is that we are now -- nation a more than 300 million people who depend on one million wealthy your affluent taxpayers.

Spenders -- job creators.

So this is the group right now especially that's doing all of the making in this country with again -- look at the consumer economy.

Where that top 5% account for 40% of consumer spending if you look at taxes where again that top 1% account for 40% or more.

A federal income and state income taxes.

Or if you look you you know around the -- these are the folks that are making right now.

So if you look at a picture of America financial picture of America.

It will be true decide that far mole people get something from the government but far fewer people pay to the government that its trip that's entitlement society.

Well you can call what you will -- that's what the number shaming their their 50% herself.

At the state or federal level that do not pay income taxes and again this top group pays the most now what's interesting is.

That's gonna get even worse in the coming months and years lesson in -- -- -- it does it change.

In the sense that we're gonna become even more dependent let's look at California.

California's governor last week said.

We have six billion dollars in tax revenue that we didn't think we are gonna get -- where -- all of that come from it came from the top 1%.

Who have benefited from the stock markets particularly in Silicon Valley venture that absolutely districts tiny the tiny sliver of the rich they contributed almost full of this extra revenue that went to the government itself a -- that's right the bulk of that six billion dollars in surprise revenue they got.

Came from the top tax payers and most of that.

Came from capital gains which again you look at Linkedin you look at all the tech stocks it's not surprising where this come over the problem the problem is.

We're now at 40%.

For this top 1%.

If the wealthy recover.

And again do all the spending and tax paying in this country and the rest of the country is stuck in the mud is stuck with a low -- look housing values and jobless rates.

Then they -- -- become.

Even greater a nation that makers and take it then back.

Whole group of people them but Downey contract they say we are entitled.

To mole from -- 1% so the very rich people they say that.

That's an entitlement society -- and we're entitled to your money they didn't.

That's that's America -- -- is well it you know it.

That there they're entitled to you know try to improve their own state of -- but again -- that today's wealthy got there.

By eight.

You know largely starting their own companies and playing by the rules and so you know yes we we have these Wall Street -- scandals and yes even today's wealthy.

Would like to see.

More wealthy people create wealth by creating value.

Rather than financially engineering so if you look at the wealthy -- group there's a big divide even within the wealthy.

About wealthy people who made it by creating accompanying creating a product that adds value to our society.

-- -- They what what -- -- the entitled rich who got there.

By manipulating the system or manipulating government rules fascinating subject and this is entitlement nation week on the -- netbook by the way.

-- effects from it today it protects Bratton.

Load More