Income inequality is on the rise in America
"CBO finds that, between 1979 and 2007, income grew by:
275 percent for the top 1 percent of households, 65 percent for the next 19 percent, Just under 40 percent for the next 60 percent, and 18 percent for the bottom 20 percent. "
"The top fifth of the population saw a 10-percentage-point increase in their share of after-tax income. Most of that growth went to the top 1 percent of the population. All other groups saw their shares decline by 2 to 3 percentage points. "
"In 2007, federal taxes and transfers reduced the dispersion of income by 20 percent, but that equalizing effect was larger in 1979. The share of transfer payments to the lowest-income households declined. The overall average federal tax rate fell. "
FROM ROBERT PEAR, NYT 10.25.11 "WASHINGTON — The top 1 percent of earners more than doubled their share of the nation’s income over the last three decades, the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday, in a new report likely to figure prominently in the escalating political fight over how to revive the economy, create jobs and lower the federal debt."
From Getting a Grip2:
"Here in the US, between 1979 and 2001, family incomes among the wealthiest 5% leapt by 81% but families in the bottom 20% saw virtually no gain." *Unsure if this was before inflation and before adding the value of federal programs like Social Security and Uninsurance Programs which CBO did do. The source no longer exists.
"In the US over the last 4 years, the share of economic growth going to corporate profist increased by over two-thirds, while the share rewarding workers fell, even as their productivity continued to rise" -- seems to mirror what CBO found
Summary: http://cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=12485&zzz=42148 Full Report: http://cbo.gov/ftpdocs/124xx/doc12485/10-25-HouseholdIncome.pdf