social mobility has slowed to a level below that in most of Europe, including Britain ... Long ago the wealthy declared war on the poor in [US]

In the US, class war still means just one thing: the rich attacking the poor | By Gary Younge in New York

The Democrats need to represent the swelling ranks of have-nots as vigorously as Bush has stuck up for the haves
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... The report showed that since George Bush came to power the poverty rate had risen by 9%, the number of people without health insurance had risen by 12%, and real median household income had remained stagnant. On the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina we learned the racial disparity in income and the gap between rich and poor show no sign of abating.
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... Paradoxically, the states with the highest levels of poverty and lowest incomes are staunchly Republican. Poor people tend not to vote, and candidates tend neither to appeal nor refer to them. However, economically they are a glaring and shameful fact of American life; socially and culturally they dominate the centre of almost every moral panic - but politically they do not exist.

None the less, in recent years the conditions associated with poverty have spread far beyond the poor. Almost two-thirds of those who lost their health insurance last year earn $75,000 or more. ...
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According to the Economic Policy Institute, in 1989 American CEOs earned 71 times more than the average worker - today, by most calculations, it is up to around 270 times. Meanwhile, social mobility has slowed to a level below that in most of Europe, including Britain.
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The conservative columnist Cal Thomas said of Edwards: "His populist jargon is nothing but class warfare." If only. Long ago the wealthy declared war on the poor in this country. The poor have yet to fight back.

In October 2000, Bush quipped to a group of wealthy diners: "What an impressive crowd: the haves, and the have-mores. Some people call you the elite; I call you my base." If only the have-nots had such a determined and confident advocate.