That graphic is done pretty dishonest.

First off... it's comparing 32 years with 27 Years... and that's important since they added together each growth number for each year.  Actual growth per year being somethling like... 3%... at max.

Secondly

That trend didn't start in 1980.

It started in 1972.(or earlier) They use 1980 to avoid the fact that such a thing happened under Jimmy Carter, arguably are most liberal president ever.

A better graph would be this one. Though the data only goes to 2005... making it flawed since once the GFC hit, the top 1%'s wealth shrunk.

As you can see... the factor of difference is larger when you include the second Nixon term and Jimmy Carter, and exclude the GFC.   Its actually a lot bigger.

Really though, it has nothing to do with policy, and everything to do with the kind of economic growth there was.  The economic growth Post WW2 was an industrial boom created by unequaled amounts of "Free Trade" Policy created by WW2 and the need for it during WW2....

and the US being the number one producer in the word due to the US not having it's industries bombed into scrap.

Largely being a "Productions and Demand via free market" boom, it was more or less lower profit margin products that were around a while that required more workers.  Hence the more even increase.

Versus now where largely we get "Growth by innovation".   Some creates the next Ipad, and the next Ipad gets a HUGE markup being new and wanted..  So it has much higher profit margins.  Since competition has yet to catch up with the new innovation.

The whole problem was that Enron cozied up to the regulators and got them to leave them alone. So the problem wasn't deregulation but corruption and a lack of enforcement of pre-existing regulations. As it was, Jeffrey Skilling alone faced 35 counts and will be spending the next 16 years in prison for what he did. Would it really be more satisfactory if he had faced 36 or even 360 counts?

Worth noting, one of the big reasons no charges have been filed in the GFC compaired to the Savings and Loan Scandel... is that more or less... regulators apparently just weren't doing anything and had no way to prove criminal intent.

Hell, look at  Jon Corzine.  Former Democratic Govonor of New Jersey who was supposed to join Obama's cabinent before the whole MF Global thing happened.  (At least according to MF Global contracts.)

He was flagrantly guilty, to where signing off on the deal was a crime, regardless of criminal intent.  No charges filed.   To claim the Republicans have a monopoly on corprotism is fantasy of the highest order.

They both practice a lot of corportism, which is why Ralph Nader of all people tried to rally the entire Green Party/anticorportist base around Ron Paul.

Nader thought Ron Paul was better then Obama and wants to form a Green/Libretarain Coalition.   I think that says something.

I am sure Spaceguy would have been happier in Communist Russia where everyone was poor. Oh, but wait, the Russians couldn't stand it so they through it out. Maybe Communist China then, but communism did the same thing to their economy and they through it out too. Seems you have no better possibility, and that's the difference between Democrats and Republicans. Republicans have enough machismo to take care of themselves, regardless of the income level. Democrats on the other hand are a bunch of snivelling, whining losers who can only survive on handouts from someone else.

Personally, I have more of a problem understanding why black people overwhelmingly vote for the Democrats being that no group has suffered more under their well intentioned but horribly flawed policies.

OT: Quite a few people do it for the Republicans' awful and regressive social policies, but there are those who believe in deregulation, low tax and small government despite the fact that they're not millionaires, and unfortunately still hold the idea that Republicans support the first and third of those.

Actually calling names like that lets me know you work of hate and not facts. Canada is a great place and is way more social then us. Also polls show that educated white men vote overwhelmingly Democratic. While uneducated white males vote republican. You whole response is completely uneducated and stinks of racism and talking points that mean nothing. No one ever said we want communism. God what a big jump from a president like obama who is actually a Moderate republican. I actual would vote Jill stein but I hate Romney and ryan so much I'm voting obama just in spite of them. SO get you facts straight. Oh yea you don't have any. You bettet watch some more fox news, for your slogans and one liners then.

Yeah. They'd seem to be strange bedfellows ideologically, but the fact that they're not corrupt yet (not having any power will do that) makes it a natural alliance against the corporatist duopoly.

Nope.