Income Inequality Worst Since 1917
No Wonder the Poker Game is Ending: The Wealthiest Have Taken All of the Chips Washington’s Blog Saturday, August 15, 2009 A new report by University of California, Berkeley economics professor Emmanuel Saez concludes that income inequality in the United States is at an all-time high, surpassing even levels seen during the Great Depression. The report shows that: Income inequality is worse than it has been since at least 1917 “The top 1 percent incomes captured half of the overall economic growth over the period 1993-2007″ “In the economic expansion of 2002-2007, the top 1 percent captured two thirds of income growth.” As others have pointed out, the average wage of Americans, adjusting for inflation, is lower than it was in the 1970s. The minimum wage, adjusting for inflation, is lower than it was in the 1950s. See this. On the other hand, billionaires have never had it better. As I wrote in September: The economy is like a poker game . . . it is human nature to want to get all of the...