And the faltering economy led Mr. Obama to say in an interview on CNBC this week that he might "possibly defer" some of his tax increases on the wealthy if economic conditions warranted a delay.
"I always wanted to do something for my hometown after I became wealthy, but the conditions there aren't ripe yet.
Current tax laws provide favorable tax conditions to wealthy foreigners who reside in Puerto Rico for as little as 183 days, in effect exempting nearly all of their investment income.
The government has rejected demands to end the overseas domestic worker "tied visa" system that is exposing thousands of women brought to Britain mainly by wealthy Gulf families to conditions of slavery and abuse.
The British government is exposing thousands of women brought to the UK by wealthy Gulf families to conditions of slavery, trafficking and abuse, according to a review of domestic worker visas.
In the past two and a half decades, by contrast, the wealthy deliberately created the conditions that increased income inequality and decreased economic opportunity.
The unsettled conditions caused wealthy Chinese to sell family heirlooms, and prices were depressed, making it an opportune moment to collect.
The trade policies of wealthy nations and the conditions on loans by international financial institutions pressure low-income countries to lower import tariffs, though high-income countries' own production remains protected by subsidies.
The long and costly legal battle seems likely to continue for months, with Mr. Assange essentially confined to the country mansion of a wealthy friend as a condition of his bail.
As a result poor and minority children tend to be tracked into dead-end remedial or special education classes, while children with similar conditions but wealthier and savvier parents receive one-on-one instruction, immunity from discipline and sometimes even private school paid for at public expense.
Better funding for schools is and will remain elusive, because middle class and wealthy people have been conditioned over the last 35 years to think of themselves as taxpayers, rather than citizens.
