Today, the richest 1% represent 23% of total income in the United States. In 2011, the mass protest movement "Occupy Wall Street" took on the "1%" to draw attention to income inequality and wealth distribution in the United States and the influence of corporations. financial on the policies of the American government. The movement began in New York's Wall Street district and quickly spread to major American cities. The protest mantra “We are the 99%” has had a direct impact on income inequality and the distribution of wealth in the United States between the richest 1% and the rest of the population. Reagan's economic legacy is the erosion of the middle class, such that the income level of the "middle man" remains essentially unchanged and more Americans are now classified as "low-income" than ever before previously. All of this is the result of Reagan's powers of persuasion, unmatched by any president before him and perhaps by any president since he left office. “The Great Communicator” was the nickname given to Ronald Reagan because he was a powerful orator and capable of persuasion. people. He told the nation what it wanted to hear. He was adept at dodging the truth and presenting information to the public in an optimistic manner. Reagan won the election by using advertising to share his vision with an ad called "Morning in America." He understood the power of establishing an emotional connection with the everyday person. Reagan knew that if he gave people a way to talk about his policy plan in simple but compelling language, then they could spread his message and support him to recruit other voters. Decades later, Barack Obama would take the same approach, taking his message of HOPE to a new generation of young Americans, engaging them with a...... middle of paper ...... was torn apart. Reagan's investment in the U.S. military and his political skills advanced democracy. But at what cost? The deficit has soared. The rest is history. Prejudices and personal opinions cannot replace objective analysis. These are the facts and they still hold true today. Although Reagan brought the country out of recession and secured our position as a global superpower, many believe he did so at the expense of the American citizens who need help most: the poor, the disabled and the middle class. The deficit tripled from $934 billion to $2.7 trillion under Reagan, due to lost revenue from tax cuts, while Reagan continued to invest in building the military. (source: consortiumnews.com) This deficit continued to increase to $4,000 billion under his Republican successor George HW Bush. In the late 1980s, middle-class incomes were only slightly higher