The wealthiest 1% of Americans have seen their share of the country’s total wealth increase to 31.9%, the largest percentage since the Federal Reserve Board started monitoring the numbers in 1989. This surge in wealth is largely attributed to the soaring stock market and President Donald Trump’s tax cuts, which have disproportionately benefited the wealthy.

Trump’s Tax Cuts and the Wealth Gap

According to French economist Thomas Piketty, the richest 1% of Americans held nearly half the nation’s wealth in 1928 and 1929, just before the Great Depression. However, their share declined after that, during a period of high marginal income tax rates and widespread discomfort with astronomical pay for executives. The share of wealth held by the top 1% began rising again in the 1970s, according to Piketty’s data.

Conservative and liberal experts agree that a soaring stock market and business profits have made it a good time for the wealthy, while middle-class and lower-income people are doing less well, especially as inflation gobbles up wage increases. The combined effects of Trump’s tariffs and tax cuts will help households with the top 10% of incomes most and hurt 70% of households between now and 2034, according to a report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

State-Level Proposals to Address Wealth Inequality

In at least a dozen states, including Illinois, Minnesota, Rhode Island, and Virginia, lawmakers have proposed new taxes for the wealthiest taxpayers. Some of these proposals would tax annual incomes above a certain threshold, while others would tax capital assets, including high-value stocks and real estate. In California, advocates have announced a November ballot initiative that would impose a one-time tax on billionaires.

Original reporting: The Connecticut Mirror — read the source article.