The income gap–the disparity in earnings between the richest and poorest Americans–grew to its widest margin ever in 2009, data from the U.S. Census revealed today.
Huffingtonpost: The top-earning 20 percent of Americans – those making more than $100,000 each year – received 49.4 percent of all income generated in the U.S., compared with the 3.4 percent earned by the bottom 20 percent of wage-earners who fell below the poverty line, according to the newly released Census figures. That ratio of 14.5-to-1 was an increase from 13.6 in 2008 and nearly double a low of 7.69 in 1968.
A different measure, the international Gini index, found U.S. income inequality at its highest level since the Census Bureau began tracking household income in 1967. The U.S. also has the greatest disparity among Western industrialized nations.
In addition to putting young people’s lives at risk, the “Great Recession” has also caused more of them to defer marriage, as many remain jobless and shy away from making any long-term commitment.
