Rich-Poor Gap Widens to Most Since 1967 as Income Falls
The income gap between rich and poor Americans grew to the widest in more than 40 years in 2011 as the poverty rate remained at almost a two-decade high.
The U.S. Census Bureau released figures today that showed median household income fell, underscoring a sputtering economic recovery and struggling middle-class that are at the center of the presidential campaign.
The proportion of people living in poverty was 15 percent in 2011, little changed from 15.1 percent in 2010, while median household income dropped 1.5 percent. The 46.2 million people living in poverty remained at the highest level in the 53 years since the Census Bureau has been collecting that statistic.
“The gains from economic growth in 2011 were quite unevenly shared as household income fell in the middle and rose at the top,” Robert Greenstein, president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, said on a conference call with reporters.
Average incomes fell for the bottom 80 percent of earners and rose for the top 20 percent, highlighting the need for “those at the top to share,” as the nation looks to reduce its budget deficit, Greenstein said.
Today in trends that aren’t entirely news: the income distribution in the US is horrible and unequal and getting steadily worse. Gains to economic growth in the last couple years have accrued solely at the top.
It’s impressive to think that last time income inequality was this bad, many income-equality measures (e.g. federal funding for low-income college students) had not really had time to take effect, and many of the most egregious attempts to maintain long-standing racially-based economic divides (e.g. segregated schools) either still existed or had just been eased. Either those changes haven’t been effectively implemented, or there have been huge countervailing changes in the economy that have swamped any positive impact.
