--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Half the U.S. population owns barely 2…" description: "\"Half the U.S. population owns barely 2 percent of its wealth, putting the United States near Rwanda and Uganda and below such nations as pre-Arab Sprin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/eric-alterman-10672_arab-spring_half-the-u-s-population-owns-barely-2-pe_3209260.jpg" --- # Half the U.S. population owns barely 2 percent of its… ![“Half the U.S. population owns barely 2 percent of its wealth, putting the United States near Rwanda and Uganda and below such nations as pre-Arab Spring Tunisia and Egypt when measured by degrees of income inequality.” quote by Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/eric-alterman-10672_arab-spring_half-the-u-s-population-owns-barely-2-pe_3209260.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/eric-alterman-10672_arab-spring_half-the-u-s-population-owns-barely-2-pe_3209260.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/eric-alterman-10672_arab-spring_half-the-u-s-population-owns-barely-2-pe_3209260.jpg) > “Half the U.S. population owns barely 2 percent of its wealth, putting the United States near Rwanda and Uganda and below such nations as pre-Arab Spring Tunisia and Egypt when measured by degrees of income inequality.” [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights extreme wealth concentration in the U.S., comparing its inequality to poorer nations, underscoring a severe socioeconomic disparity. **In simple terms:** Wealth is heavily concentrated among a tiny elite in the U.S. Key Takeaway Address policies to reduce wealth gaps. Themes inequality wealth concentration social justice Mood concerned critical urgent Type analytical political economic When to use this quote - policy reform - taxation - public awareness campaigns - community investment Key Concepts economic disparity political economy social stratification Questions to Reflect On - How can policy effectively redistribute wealth without harming growth? - What societal changes would reduce extreme inequality? A Different Perspective Inequality metrics can be misleading without context; not all wealth concentration is inherently negative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arab spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arab-spring/) [Barely Percent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barely-percent-1129644/) [Degrees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degrees/) [Egypt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/egypt/) [Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half/) [Half Population](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half-population-1271638/) [Income](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/income/) [Income inequality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/income-inequality/) [Inequality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inequality/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Percent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/percent/) [Percent Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/percent-wealth-822007/) [Population](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/population/) [Population Owns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/population-owns-5989339/) [Rwanda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rwanda/) [Spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spring/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Tunisia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tunisia/) [Uganda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uganda/) [United](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united/) [United states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) ## Related quotes > [Today, barely 5 percent of all containers coming into the United States through our ports are scanned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alcee-hastings/today-barely-5-percent-of-all-containers-coming-into-the-united/) [Alcee Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alcee-hastings/) > [Our gross domestic product, or GDP, is barely above 1 percent. And going down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/our-gross-domestic-product-or-gdp-is-barely-above-1-percent-and-going/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [What democratic socialism is about is saying that it is immoral and wrong that the top one-tenth of 1 percent in this country own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/what-democratic-socialism-is-about-is-saying-that-it-is-immoral-and/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I lost 80 percent of my wealth and then gave away over half of the rest. So I'm a man of modest means now.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/i-lost-80-percent-of-my-wealth-and-then-gave-away-over-half-of-the/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [If every rich person gave 50 percent of their wealth to charity, I would not say they should pay more taxes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/if-every-rich-person-gave-50-percent-of-their-wealth-to-charity-i/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [“millionaire has told me that true diversity has much to do with controlling one’s investments; no one can control the stock market. But you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-j-stanley/millionaire-has-told-me-that-true-diversity-has-much-to-do-with/) [Thomas J. Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-j-stanley/) > [“A historian who studied Boston tax lists in 1687 and 1771 found that in 1687 there were, out of a population of six thousand,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/a-historian-who-studied-boston-tax-lists-in-1687-and-1771-found-that/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“Critique of the 1 percent’s domination predates, it should be recalled, the “Occupy” movement’s popularizing of the notion. In fact, Martin Luther King, Jr.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lewis-taylor/critique-of-the-1-percent-s-domination-predates-it-should-be-recalled/) [Mark Lewis Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lewis-taylor/) > [Donald Trump got himself very far to the left. When he was considering running for president in 2000, he was for a 13 percent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hayes/donald-trump-got-himself-very-far-to-the-left-when-he-was-considering/) [Chris Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hayes/) > [“Shortly before the outbreak of the Great War it was calculated that four per cent of the population of England held ninety per cent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-casper-husslein/shortly-before-the-outbreak-of-the-great-war-it-was-calculated-that/) [Joseph Casper Husslein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-casper-husslein/) > [A lot of people have, like, 95 percent of their wealth in bitcoin. Great for them, but I got to be smart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-shrem/a-lot-of-people-have-like-95-percent-of-their-wealth-in-bitcoin-great/) [Charlie Shrem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-shrem/) > [The economic system that the United States has is an evil empire. It's an economic system that's not fair, not just, and it's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moore/the-economic-system-that-the-united-states-has-is-an-evil-empire-it-s/) [Michael Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moore/) > [If you're only going to give away 50 percent of your wealth... c'mon. I'm going to do much more than that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-a-d-aniello/if-you-re-only-going-to-give-away-50-percent-of-your-wealth-c-mon-i-m/) [Daniel A. D'Aniello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-a-d-aniello/) > [We will no longer be led only by that half of the population whose socialization, through toys, games, values and expectations, sanctions violence as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilma-scott-heide/we-will-no-longer-be-led-only-by-that-half-of-the-population-whose/) [Wilma Scott Heide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilma-scott-heide/) > [We know we only have about half of our population that's voting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolores-huerta/we-know-we-only-have-about-half-of-our-population-that-s-voting/) [Dolores Huerta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolores-huerta/) ## More by Eric Alterman > [As with almost every significant aspect of the Bush presidency, its handling of 9/11 was a catastrophe from start to finish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/as-with-almost-every-significant-aspect-of-the-bush-presidency-its/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [Ever since Richard Nixon walloped George McGovern in the presidential election of 1972, political pundits have treated as a truism the proposition that liberals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/ever-since-richard-nixon-walloped-george-mcgovern-in-the-presidential/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [This trend of reporting process over substance is unfortunate, if omnipresent. Even worse is the media's inability - or unwillingness - to fact-check Republicans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/this-trend-of-reporting-process-over-substance-is-unfortunate-if/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [Most of the provisions designed to fix what ails our health system don't kick in until 2014, which, one wishes administration officials had noticed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/most-of-the-provisions-designed-to-fix-what-ails-our-health-system/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [Whether one agrees or disagrees with the tactics of the Occupy Wall Street movement, it's easy to understand the inspiration for its anger as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/whether-one-agrees-or-disagrees-with-the-tactics-of-the-occupy-wall/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [America's great newspapers have staffs that range from 50 percent to 70 percent of what they were just a few years ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/america-s-great-newspapers-have-staffs-that-range-from-50-percent-to/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [Trends in circulation and advertising - the rise of the Internet, which has made the daily newspaper look slow and unresponsive; the advent of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/trends-in-circulation-and-advertising-the-rise-of-the-internet-which/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [Warren Buffett pays taxes on a smaller percentage of his billions in income than his cleaning lady.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/warren-buffett-pays-taxes-on-a-smaller-percentage-of-his-billions-in/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [The myth of the liberal media empowers conservatives to control debate in the United States to the point where liberals cannot even hope for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/the-myth-of-the-liberal-media-empowers-conservatives-to-control/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [While history never repeats itself, political patterns do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/while-history-never-repeats-itself-political-patterns-do/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [Face it, the system is rigged, and it's rigged against us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/face-it-the-system-is-rigged-and-it-s-rigged-against-us/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [The war on terrorism was a bait and switch operation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/the-war-on-terrorism-was-a-bait-and-switch-operation/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [If bloggers are to improve our public discourse - helping busy and usually uninformed people make sense of the world - it is necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/if-bloggers-are-to-improve-our-public-discourse-helping-busy-and/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [Americans continue to suffer from a notoriously short attention span. They get mad as hell with reasonable frequency, but quickly return to their families…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/americans-continue-to-suffer-from-a-notoriously-short-attention-span/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [By the accusation of liberal bias ... the institutions that conservatives revere - the military, corporate America, organized religion, and the powerful conservative groups…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/by-the-accusation-of-liberal-bias-the-institutions-that-conservatives/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) [Explore all 64 Eric Alterman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) ## More Arab spring quotes > [None of us is certain about the outcome of the Arab Spring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ayotte/none-of-us-is-certain-about-the-outcome-of-the-arab-spring/) [Kelly Ayotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ayotte/) > [As you know with the Arab Spring, there were no dividends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/najib-razak/as-you-know-with-the-arab-spring-there-were-no-dividends/) [Najib Razak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/najib-razak/) > [Some socialist movements in Egypt, Tunisia and Bahrain, for instance, were genuine. I was making films about the so-called Arab Spring, and I'm well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-vltchek/some-socialist-movements-in-egypt-tunisia-and-bahrain-for-instance/) [Andre Vltchek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-vltchek/) > [We are living in a world in which developments are harder to predict and one that has become more uncertain. In such a world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jens-stoltenberg/we-are-living-in-a-world-in-which-developments-are-harder-to-predict/) [Jens Stoltenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jens-stoltenberg/) > [The first question that I ask : do I have public support or not. That is the first question that I asked as President.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bashar-al-assad/the-first-question-that-i-ask-do-i-have-public-support-or-not-that-is/) [Bashar al-Assad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bashar-al-assad/) > [“Our daily routines influence the lives of people and animals halfway across the world, and some personal gestures can unexpectedly set the entire world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/our-daily-routines-influence-the-lives-of-people-and-animals-halfway/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [There is always the risk that a conflagration in the Middle East becomes larger and more dangerous. In this scenario, we discover that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bremmer/there-is-always-the-risk-that-a-conflagration-in-the-middle-east/) [Ian Bremmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bremmer/) > [One of the themes of 'The Longest War,' my book, which came out before the Arab spring happened, was how al-Qaida and bin Laden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bergen/one-of-the-themes-of-the-longest-war-my-book-which-came-out-before/) [Peter Bergen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bergen/) > [I don't think the Arab Spring had much to do with energy. I think it was just the opposite, in fact. I think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/i-don-t-think-the-arab-spring-had-much-to-do-with-energy-i-think-it/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [I think Martin Luther King would always keep track of collective insurgencies among poor and working people. He was concerned about the treatment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-think-martin-luther-king-would-always-keep-track-of-collective/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Everyone knew that Saleh and the Houthis were a marriage of convenience. He was a dictator; the Houthis are ideologues who want to impose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamal-khashoggi/everyone-knew-that-saleh-and-the-houthis-were-a-marriage-of/) [Jamal Khashoggi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamal-khashoggi/) > [The Arab Spring is a true phenomenon. Embrace Arab Spring; embrace the aspiration for freedom of the people of Egypt, Syria, and Yemen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamal-khashoggi/the-arab-spring-is-a-true-phenomenon-embrace-arab-spring-embrace-the/) [Jamal Khashoggi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamal-khashoggi/) > [The death of Yemeni strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh shows that Saudi Arabia is paying for its betrayal of the Arab spring in Yemen in 2011.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamal-khashoggi/the-death-of-yemeni-strongman-ali-abdullah-saleh-shows-that-saudi/) [Jamal Khashoggi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamal-khashoggi/) > [I believe democracy will succeed in Tunisia, but I also believe that it will succeed in the other Arab Spring countries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashid-al-ghannushi/i-believe-democracy-will-succeed-in-tunisia-but-i-also-believe-that/) [Rashid al-Ghannushi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashid-al-ghannushi/) > [“The Arab Spring has been a dismal failure. All indications are that what comes next will be significantly worse than what existed before, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-bradley/the-arab-spring-has-been-a-dismal-failure-all-indications-are-that/) [John R. Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-r-bradley/) [Browse all 108 Arab spring quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arab-spring/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Half the U.S. population owns barely 2 percent of its wealth, putting the United States near Rwanda and Uganda and below such nations as pre-Arab Spring Tunisia and Egypt when measured by degrees of income inequality.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eric Alterman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/half-the-u-s-population-owns-barely-2-percent-of-its-wealth-putting/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Arab spring" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/half-the-u-s-population-owns-barely-2-percent-of-its-wealth-putting/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/eric-alterman-10672_arab-spring_half-the-u-s-population-owns-barely-2-pe_3209260.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/eric-alterman-10672_arab-spring_half-the-u-s-population-owns-barely-2-pe_3209260.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/eric-alterman-10672_arab-spring_half-the-u-s-population-owns-barely-2-pe_3209260.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Half the U.S. population owns barely 2 percent of its wealth, putting the United States near Rwanda and…” — Eric Alterman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Eric Alterman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Half the U.S. population owns barely...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/half-the-u-s-population-owns-barely-2-percent-of-its-wealth-putting/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/half-the-u-s-population-owns-barely-2-percent-of-its-wealth-putting/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```