Chart of the Day: our ruling class and ownership of the government

from article entitled "Why Hasn’t Democracy [Managed Elections] Slowed Rising Inequality?" published in Journal of Economic Perspectives—Volume 27, Number 3—Summer 2013—Pages 103–124

Notes: The red line tracks the share of campaign contributions in all federal elections donated by the top 0.01  percent of the voting age population. The number of donors included in the 0.01  percent share of voting age population grew from 16,444 in 1980 to 24,092 in 2012. During the same period, the minimum amount given to be included in the top 0.01 percent grew in real terms from $5,616 to $25,000 (in 2012 dollars). The shaded line tracks the share of total income (including capital gains) received by the top 0.01 percent of households.