Even in an Occupy world, most Americans don’t know exactly how the 1% does what it does. The mainstream media hasn’t explained it, and the 1% likes things that way.
That’s why we’ve created a new video series unmasking those in the 1% who are exploiting the 99%—name by name, fact by fact. Each short video—one minute apiece—lays out the truth about a different tycoon. These aren’t opinions; these are facts, condensed into bite-sized chunks. Occupy has already revealed the country’s widespread outrage at the 1%; now it’s time for the plutocracy’s dirty deeds to be common knowledge.
The best part? Brave New Foundation’s audience chose the people we’re highlighting. We solicited suggestions on nominees, narrowed them down to 30, and let our audience vote on which ones they thought deserved to be exposed. The new videos represent five of the top vote-getters, with more videos below for the rest. Here’s one:
Rob Walton, Chairman of Walmart
Of course, the 1% would like to keep its activities shrouded in secrecy. Hiding behind complicated phraseology like “collateralized debt obligation” makes it hard for the public to bust you. But you don’t have to be a financier to understand how these guys operate. Our first set of videos (below) gives it straight on Rob Walton of Walmart, Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs, Pete Peterson of the Blackstone Group, Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, and Rupert Murdoch of News Corp.
Little by little, the 99% is chipping away at the 1%’s power. Watch the video series to get the basics on how that power is being wielded.
Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs
Pete Peterson, Co-Founder of the Blackstone Group
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase
Rupert Murdoch, President of News Corp
KNOW THE FACTS
- In just the last generation, the richest 1% almost quadrupled their incomes.
- The average wealth of the 1% is 225 times bigger than the wealth of the typical household – the highest it’s ever been.
- Three decades ago, CEOs made about 40 times as much as an average worker – now CEOs make almost 200 times as much as regular employees.
- Last year, half of Americans earned less than $26,000 while CEOs at top 500 companies raked in an average of $11 million.
- Over the past decade, earnings for middle-class Americans actually fell. In fact, working Americans’ wages are now a lower percentage of our economy than they’ve ever been.
- The divide between the richest and the poorest is worse in America than it is in nearly all of Europe and Asia and much of Africa. It’s about as bad as in Rwanda and Serbia – and it’s bad for our economy.
- The 1% is not an accident – it is the result of policies our government chose to pursue.
Angry, shocked, overwhelmed? Take action: Support independent media.
We’ve borne witness to a chaotic first few months in Trump’s presidency.
Over the last months, each executive order has delivered shock and bewilderment — a core part of a strategy to make the right-wing turn feel inevitable and overwhelming. But, as organizer Sandra Avalos implored us to remember in Truthout last November, “Together, we are more powerful than Trump.”
Indeed, the Trump administration is pushing through executive orders, but — as we’ve reported at Truthout — many are in legal limbo and face court challenges from unions and civil rights groups. Efforts to quash anti-racist teaching and DEI programs are stalled by education faculty, staff, and students refusing to comply. And communities across the country are coming together to raise the alarm on ICE raids, inform neighbors of their civil rights, and protect each other in moving shows of solidarity.
It will be a long fight ahead. And as nonprofit movement media, Truthout plans to be there documenting and uplifting resistance.
As we undertake this life-sustaining work, we appeal for your support. Please, if you find value in what we do, join our community of sustainers by making a monthly or one-time gift.