Of course the economy is a mess

And the reason it will be so hard to fix is that a tiny group of people have enormously benefitted from this mess.

Study Shows Economic Crisis and Response a Victory for the Rich

By: masaccio  

A recent paper shows the complete victory of the rich in the class war. If you had any doubt, consider these facts. In 1983, the 838,900 households comprising the top 1% in wealth held $6.6 trillion in financial assets (constant 2007 dollars). In 2007, the 1,161,200 households in the top 1% held $19.9 trillion. The average for each household went from $7,870,000 to $17,116,000.

To put this in perspective, in 1983, the middle quintile, the 16,779,000 households 10% on either side of the middle, held $261.7 billion, an average of $15,600 per household. That rose to $603 billion in 2007, when there were 23,224,000 households in that quintile. Each household in the middle quintile had an average of $26,000 in financial wealth. If just half of the gains to the top 20% were divided evenly among the other 80% of 2007 households, their average wealth would rise $157,776. more