--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Americans have known about mounting…" description: "\"Americans have known about mounting inequality and king-sized Wall Street bonuses for years. But we also had an entire genre of journalism dedicated to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/thomas-frank-4078_bonus_americans-have-known-about-mounting-ineq_775326.png" --- # Americans have known about mounting inequality and… ![“Americans have known about mounting inequality and king-sized Wall Street bonuses for years. But we also had an entire genre of journalism dedicated to brushing the problem off.” quote by Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/thomas-frank-4078_bonus_americans-have-known-about-mounting-ineq_775326.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/thomas-frank-4078_bonus_americans-have-known-about-mounting-ineq_775326.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/thomas-frank-4078_bonus_americans-have-known-about-mounting-ineq_775326.png) > “Americans have known about mounting inequality and king-sized Wall Street bonuses for years. But we also had an entire genre of journalism dedicated to brushing the problem off.” [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) ## 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 persistent wealth gaps and the media’s role in downplaying them. **In simple terms:** Inequality persists while media often ignores it. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge narratives that minimize inequality. Themes economic disparity media bias wealth concentration Mood critical concerned Type analytical commentary When to use this quote - policy debates - financial reporting - public awareness campaigns - academic research Key Concepts capitalism social justice journalism Questions to Reflect On - How does media framing affect public perception of inequality? - What can individuals do to expose hidden economic disparities? A Different Perspective Media may oversimplify complex economic causes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dedicated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dedicated/) [Genre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genre/) [Inequality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inequality/) [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Street](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/street/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) [Wall St](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall-st/) [Wall street](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall-street/) ## Related quotes > [African Americans have always known that a little bit of paranoia was healthy for us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-mckinney/african-americans-have-always-known-that-a-little-bit-of-paranoia-was/) [Cynthia McKinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-mckinney/) > [Americans are known for their strength, fortitude, and generosity in times of need. We encourage people in the U.S. and everywhere to give with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dell/americans-are-known-for-their-strength-fortitude-and-generosity-in/) [Michael Dell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dell/) > [There seems to be an increasing awareness of something we Americans have known for some time - that the ten most dangerous words in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/there-seems-to-be-an-increasing-awareness-of-something-we-americans/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [“Americans were known for a zealous and often immoderate attachment to the United States and all it represented.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-finnie/americans-were-known-for-a-zealous-and-often-immoderate-attachment-to/) [David H. Finnie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-finnie/) > [I don't think it's man's function to write. I don't think it's a normal thing like teeth-brushing and going to the bathroom. It's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-serling/i-don-t-think-it-s-man-s-function-to-write-i-don-t-think-it-s-a/) [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) > [What I find really works for me is dry body brushing; it helps improve the circulation and exfoliates your skin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-kerr/what-i-find-really-works-for-me-is-dry-body-brushing-it-helps-improve/) [Miranda Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-kerr/) > [I don't mess around when it comes to brushing my teeth. Properly brushed, twice a day, every day, to get my day started.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-cruz/i-don-t-mess-around-when-it-comes-to-brushing-my-teeth-properly/) [Victor Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cruz/) > [“A pony who lives outdoors usually has healthy skin and hair and does not need to be groomed daily, except to get him clean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-e-harris/a-pony-who-lives-outdoors-usually-has-healthy-skin-and-hair-and-does/) Susan E. Harris > [If you exchanged wedding vows, tape them to your bathroom mirror and read them aloud to yourself every morning along with the ritual brushing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-lerner/if-you-exchanged-wedding-vows-tape-them-to-your-bathroom-mirror-and/) [Harriet Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-lerner/) > [If she gags when brushing her teeth, she isn't wife material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/if-she-gags-when-brushing-her-teeth-she-isn-t-wife-material/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [Growing up, I would have to watch the other children and learn from my mistakes. I would have to push myself to overcome the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tammet/growing-up-i-would-have-to-watch-the-other-children-and-learn-from-my/) [Daniel Tammet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tammet/) > [If you are capable of brushing your teeth in mindfulness, then you will be able to enjoy the time when you take a shower,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/if-you-are-capable-of-brushing-your-teeth-in-mindfulness-then-you/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [And of course there is nothing better than wearing the same T-shirt for days and not brushing my hair for weeks,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daria-werbowy/and-of-course-there-is-nothing-better-than-wearing-the-same-t-shirt/) [Daria Werbowy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daria-werbowy/) > [All that the Devil asks is acquiescence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-massie/all-that-the-devil-asks-is-acquiescence/) [Suzanne Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-massie/) > [ He \[A. J. Balfour\] was eminently one of the Cole Porter school of famous men, who only fell to rise again. Picking himself up… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-balfour/he-a-j-balfour-was-eminently-one-of-the-cole-porter-school-of-famous/) [Arthur Balfour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-balfour/) ## More by Thomas Frank > [I was in a bad mood when I wrote that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/i-was-in-a-bad-mood-when-i-wrote-that/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [“above all, intellectual. Anti-intellectualism is one of the grand unifying themes of the backlash, the mutant strain of class war that underpins so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/above-all-intellectual-anti-intellectualism-is-one-of-the-grand/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [The only truly individualistic health-care choice - where you receive care that is unpolluted by anyone else's funds - is to forgo insurance altogether,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/the-only-truly-individualistic-health-care-choice-where-you-receive/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [Conservatism is not a doctrine of contentment. Not a doctrine for the satisfied and the smug. It's a politics that's at war with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/conservatism-is-not-a-doctrine-of-contentment-not-a-doctrine-for-the/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [A president aiming for 'Great' or 'Near Great' status must do more. He must give lots of interviews, make records accessible, and heap the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/a-president-aiming-for-great-or-near-great-status-must-do-more-he/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [“Innovation liberalism is "a liberalism of the rich," to use the straightforward phrase of local labor leader Harris Gruman. This doctrine has no patience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/innovation-liberalism-is-a-liberalism-of-the-rich-to-use-the/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [Media bias has been a favorite theme of the Right for decades, of course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/media-bias-has-been-a-favorite-theme-of-the-right-for-decades-of/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [Presidential legacies are valuable things, too valuable to be left up to historians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/presidential-legacies-are-valuable-things-too-valuable-to-be-left-up/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [A lot of populists after populism died just became socialists. At the beginning of the 20th century, socialism looked like it was going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/a-lot-of-populists-after-populism-died-just-became-socialists-at-the/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [“And so the catastrophe of 1929–33 did to the certainties of laissez-faire economics what science did to nineteenth-century religion and what the slaughter of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/and-so-the-catastrophe-of-1929-33-did-to-the-certainties-of-laissez/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [Vibrancy is so universally desirable, so totemic in its powers, that even though we aren't sure what the word means, we know the quality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/vibrancy-is-so-universally-desirable-so-totemic-in-its-powers-that/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [Under the administration of George W. Bush, you will recall, federal spending grew pretty significantly. At the same time, the number of people directly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/under-the-administration-of-george-w-bush-you-will-recall-federal/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [Massive inequality, we have learned, isn't the best way to run an economy after all. And when you think about it, it's also profoundly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/massive-inequality-we-have-learned-isn-t-the-best-way-to-run-an/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [Governing was always difficult for conservatives, but as they return to the opposition, they are rediscovering their skill at blame evasion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/governing-was-always-difficult-for-conservatives-but-as-they-return/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [Back in the days when the market was a kind of secular god and all the world thrilled to behold the amazing powers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/back-in-the-days-when-the-market-was-a-kind-of-secular-god-and-all/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) [Explore all 116 Thomas Frank quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) ## More Bonus quotes > [I nibbled my lower lip. "If you could see into my past just by touching my back, you'd have a hard time resisting the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/i-nibbled-my-lower-lip-if-you-could-see-into-my-past-just-by-touching/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [I'm happy doing what I'm doing, and if you have that kind of attitude then everything else from there on is a bonus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-lee/i-m-happy-doing-what-i-m-doing-and-if-you-have-that-kind-of-attitude/) [Tommy Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-lee/) > [“All fair in love and bonus round”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-charters/all-fair-in-love-and-bonus-round/) David Charters > [People paid money for tickets to see us and be entertained by us, and we've never forgotten that. Anything after that was a bonus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-young/people-paid-money-for-tickets-to-see-us-and-be-entertained-by-us-and/) [Malcolm Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-young/) > [Just as Wall Street needs to break the hold of the bonus culture, which drives risk-taking that is rational for individuals but damaging to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-schekman/just-as-wall-street-needs-to-break-the-hold-of-the-bonus-culture/) [Randy Schekman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-schekman/) > [“I have a hard time keeping my hands off you without that added bonus”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/i-have-a-hard-time-keeping-my-hands-off-you-without-that-added-bonus/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [I feel very privileged to get to read and write and not to have to do things that I don't like, and I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/i-feel-very-privileged-to-get-to-read-and-write-and-not-to-have-to-do/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [After 40, every day is a bonus. We should know how to live our lives to the fullest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suhasini-maniratnam/after-40-every-day-is-a-bonus-we-should-know-how-to-live-our-lives-to/) [Suhasini Maniratnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suhasini-maniratnam/) > [I'd love to go and I'd love to play for my country and go to a World Cup again. I've got to accept I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-owen/i-d-love-to-go-and-i-d-love-to-play-for-my-country-and-go-to-a-world/) [Michael Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-owen/) > [I am indeed a fortunate man and today's hours are but a bonus, undeserved. Why have I been allowed to live this extra day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/i-am-indeed-a-fortunate-man-and-today-s-hours-are-but-a-bonus/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [If I win, it's a bonus. If I lose, the sun still comes up the next day, and it's all good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashleigh-barty/if-i-win-it-s-a-bonus-if-i-lose-the-sun-still-comes-up-the-next-day/) [Ashleigh Barty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashleigh-barty/) > [I wish I could Buy Time - just write a cheque, and a few days later a brown cardboard box would arrive at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-wish-i-could-buy-time-just-write-a-cheque-and-a-few-days-later-a/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [If you're going to take away our sponsors, why not bump it up to $100,000 for a fight bonus? Let us scrap it out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-stephens/if-you-re-going-to-take-away-our-sponsors-why-not-bump-it-up-to-100/) [Jeremy Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-stephens/) > [A lot of companies make diversity a part of the performance goals against which an executive gets paid. Just as you have to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-jordan/a-lot-of-companies-make-diversity-a-part-of-the-performance-goals/) [Vernon Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-jordan/) > [Well, I got better after this, and my entire family really did appreciate it. Usually, they're resentful of movies that I go off and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meryl-streep/well-i-got-better-after-this-and-my-entire-family-really-did/) [Meryl Streep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meryl-streep/) Browse all 284 Bonus quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Americans have known about mounting inequality and king-sized Wall Street bonuses for years. But we also had an entire genre of journalism dedicated to brushing the problem off.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Frank" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/americans-have-known-about-mounting-inequality-and-king-sized-wall/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bonus" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/americans-have-known-about-mounting-inequality-and-king-sized-wall/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/thomas-frank-4078_bonus_americans-have-known-about-mounting-ineq_775326.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/thomas-frank-4078_bonus_americans-have-known-about-mounting-ineq_775326.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/thomas-frank-4078_bonus_americans-have-known-about-mounting-ineq_775326.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Americans have known about mounting inequality and king-sized Wall Street bonuses for years. But we also had…” — Thomas Frank", "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": "Thomas Frank", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Americans have known about mounting inequality...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/americans-have-known-about-mounting-inequality-and-king-sized-wall/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/americans-have-known-about-mounting-inequality-and-king-sized-wall/#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 } } ] } ```