In the closing stages of the US presidential campaign, John McCain has been pushing hard on the idea that Barack Obama would "spread the wealth around" - as the Democratic candidate this month reportedly told the voter who came to be known as Joe the Plumber. "That is what change means for Barack the Redistributor," said Mr McCain on Monday. "It means taking your money and giving it to someone else."

The Republican nominee's sounding of the alarm resonates with portions of the US electorate, although it has probably come too late to be a game changer. But much larger sections of voters - those living in the bottom 80 per cent - have been experiencing a means of wealth redistribution in the past few years that has led many of them to different conclusions.