<i>Late last year, the U.S. economy experienced a surprising decoupling. As stocks boomed, the wealthy bounced back.</i><p>Isn't this completely predictable? When the government invests hundreds of billions of dollars into the market, by way of dumping money into the financial and automobile industries, and that money's source is loans backed by the people-at-large, then of course this is happening.<p>The government is transferring money from the taxpayers to those invested in the capital markets. Anybody who believes that the government (not just the GOP but the Democrats as well) is working for the little guy, is a sucker.
The editorial hinted at an answer...<p>"The American wealthy benefit greatly from the country’s legal system and business transparency, not to mention its armed forces."<p>I guess you'd agree or disagree to the extent that you believe the US military, government, and courts are required to maintain a safe, stable world where trade can take place unabated enough to allow the rise of a global elite. It's not just the US, of course - you could also ask if the haven of Monaco could survive without the military strength of nearby european powers.
The original Salon article is much better in its analysis:
<a href="http://www.salon.com/news/us_economy/index.html?story=/news/feature/2010/07/27/american_people_obsolete" rel="nofollow">http://www.salon.com/news/us_economy/index.html?story=/news/...</a>
This article makes good points, but it fails to raise alarms for me. Knowledge has few national boundaries (and largely shouldn't), why should capital?