Decades of policy decisions have entrenched disparities so deep that the US now stands on the brink of an era reminiscent of the Gilded Age, but far more concentrated, according to a new report.
Oxfam America’s Unequal: The Rise of a New American Oligarchy paints a sobering picture of an economy increasingly controlled by a tiny elite and revealing that between 1989 and 2022, a household in the top 1% gained more than $8.3 million in wealth, while the median household saw less than $83,000 in gains. Those in the bottom fifth added under $8,500.
The report states that the richest 0.1% now control 12.6% of all assets, their largest share on record, and nearly a quarter of the US stock market.
Higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans has recently been urged by proponents in California and Illinois.
During the 1989-2022 period, Oxfam says that White household wealth grew over seven times faster than that of Black households and nearly seven times faster than that of Hispanic/Latinx households and the average White male-headed household holds 16 times the wealth of a Black or Latina woman-headed household.
“Inequality has been a choice, and it is within our power to reverse it,” says Elizabeth Wilkins, president of the Roosevelt Institute in the report’s foreword. “At the root, what is needed is a vision of who government and the economy work for - the many, not the wealthy few - and a determination to deliver.”
The analysis ties the accelerating divide to policy shifts over the last half-century including union crackdowns in the 1980s, welfare reductions in the 1990s, and tax reforms in the 2000s that favored the ultra-rich. Those choices, it argues, have enabled “a small fraction of people to accumulate unimaginable fortunes while millions face hardship.”
The report says that under the current administration, the trend has intensified, with the OBBBA slashing taxes for the wealthiest 0.1% which will save them roughly $311,000 each in 2027, while the lowest-income households face increases. Cuts to Medicaid and nutrition assistance are projected to strip coverage or benefits from millions, and the rollback of federal worker protections represents “the largest act of union busting in US history,” according to Oxfam’s analysis.
The report highlights several stats: the ten richest U.S. billionaires gained nearly $700 billion in a single year, even as over 40% of Americans (nearly half of all children) are considered poor or low-income and homelessness and food insecurity are at record highs.
It outlines a roadmap for financial and political leaders seeking change and calls for four urgent actions: rebalance economic power through stronger unions and antitrust enforcement; unrig the tax code with higher rates on extreme wealth and corporate profits; rebuild a robust social safety net that guarantees basic needs; and support workers’ rights to organize and earn living wages.
Oxfam estimates that even a modest wealth tax on multimillionaires and billionaires could raise $414 billion to combat poverty and fund public programs.
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