We are the 99%
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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We are the 99% is a political slogan widely used and coined by the Occupy movement. It was the name of a Tumblr blog page launched in late August 2011 and is a variation on the phrase "We The 99%" from an August 2011 flyer for the NYC General Assembly. A related statistic, the 1%, refers to the top 1% wealthiest people in society that have a disproportionate share of capital, political influence, and the means of production.
The phrase directly refers to the income and wealth inequality in the United States with a concentration of wealth among the top earning 1%. It reflects an opinion that the "99%" are paying the price for the mistakes of a tiny minority within the upper class. As of 2009, all households with incomes less than $343,927 belonged to the lower 99% of the United States' income distribution, according to IRS reports. The concept has been criticized as being a century old, and wealth concentration been defended as correlating with the health of the stock market. The slogan has also been used in other countries, not just the US.
Beginning in 2015, the related statistic of the 1% was used often in Bernie Sanders's presidential campaign. He would use phrases such as, "Now is the time to create a government which represents all Americans and not just the 1%," and it became a key identifier of his message, often repeated on late-night talk shows and the like.
See also
- Affluence in the United States
- American upper class
- Bank Transfer Day
- Distribution of wealth
- High-net-worth individual
- How the Other Half Lives
- Household income in the United States
- Income inequality in the United States
- Let Wall Street Pay for the Restoration of Main Street Bill
- 99ers
- 99 Percent Declaration
- Occupy movement
- Occupy Wall Street
- Oligarchy
- Plutocracy
- Two Americas
- Upper ten thousand
- Wealth inequality in the United States
- Wealth in the United States
- Mitt Romney's 47% Comment
- Lobby 99
