Wizdom
30-10-11, 08:42
US President Barack Obama has for the first time used the language of anti-Wall Street movement, admitting that Americans have lost ground to the top one percent.
“America is better off when everyone has had the chance to get ahead -- not just those at the top of the income scale," Obama said at his weekly speech on Saturday.
He was referring to a report by Congressional Budget Office this week that indicates the income of one percent of wealthiest Americans tripled between 1979 and 2007, Reuters reported.
His remarks come as the 2012 election year draws near and both dominant political parties in the US, Republican and Democrat, try to blame the other for the growing economic woes of the country.
He, however, emphasized that Americans should not spite the wealthy.
"In this country, we don't begrudge anyone's wealth or success -- we encourage it. We celebrate it,” the US president said.
Obama also blamed Republicans lawmakers for hindering efforts to reduce inequality in American society, claiming that “Republicans in Congress aren't paying attention. They're not getting the message.”
The remarks by the American president come against the backdrop of the expanding “Occupy Wall Street” movement that started in New York's major financial hub in mid-September to protest “corporate greed,” corruption, poverty as well as social inequality in the United States.
The campaign has now spread to dozens of major US cities and sparked similar anti-capitalism protests in other countries across the world, including Australia, Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain, Ireland, and Portugal.
HSH/ASH/MB
“America is better off when everyone has had the chance to get ahead -- not just those at the top of the income scale," Obama said at his weekly speech on Saturday.
He was referring to a report by Congressional Budget Office this week that indicates the income of one percent of wealthiest Americans tripled between 1979 and 2007, Reuters reported.
His remarks come as the 2012 election year draws near and both dominant political parties in the US, Republican and Democrat, try to blame the other for the growing economic woes of the country.
He, however, emphasized that Americans should not spite the wealthy.
"In this country, we don't begrudge anyone's wealth or success -- we encourage it. We celebrate it,” the US president said.
Obama also blamed Republicans lawmakers for hindering efforts to reduce inequality in American society, claiming that “Republicans in Congress aren't paying attention. They're not getting the message.”
The remarks by the American president come against the backdrop of the expanding “Occupy Wall Street” movement that started in New York's major financial hub in mid-September to protest “corporate greed,” corruption, poverty as well as social inequality in the United States.
The campaign has now spread to dozens of major US cities and sparked similar anti-capitalism protests in other countries across the world, including Australia, Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain, Ireland, and Portugal.
HSH/ASH/MB