Income inequality worst since 1920s, according to IRS data

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Wealthy_g ... _of_US_101
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Half of US senators are millionaires:

The superrich are gobbling up an ever larger piece of the economic
pie, and the poor are seeing their share of earnings shrink: new IRS
data shows the top 1 percent of Americans are claiming a larger share
of national income than at any time since before the Great Depression.

The top percentile of wealthy Americans earned 21.2 percent of all
income in 2005, up from 19 percent in 2004, according to new Internal
Revenue Service data published in the Wall Street Journal Friday.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1192158 ... =hpp_us_wh
ats_news


Americans in the bottom 50 percent of wage earners saw their share of
income shrink to 12.8 percent in 2005, down from 13.4 percent.

"Scholars attribute rising inequality to several factors," the Journal
reports, "including technological change that favors those with more
skills, and globalization and advances in communications that enlarge
the rewards available to 'superstar' performers whether in business,
sports or entertainment."

The data could cause problems to President Bush and Republican
presidential candidates, who have played up low unemployment and a
strong economy since 2003, crediting Bush's tax cuts for contributing
to both. In an interview with the Journal, Bush downplayed the
significance of the income gap, saying more education is the answer to
narrowing it.

"First of all, our society has had income inequality for a long time.
Secondly, skills gaps yield income gaps," Bush told the Journal. "And
what needs to be done about the inequality of income is to make sure
people have got good education, starting with young kids. That's why
No Child Left Behind is such an important component of making sure
that America is competitive in the 21st century."

The Journal notes that many Americans fear the economy is entering a
recession, and the IRS data show income for the median earner fell 2
percent between 2000 and 2005 to $30,881. Earnings for the top 1
percent grew to $364,657 -- a 3 percent uptick.

Scholarly research suggests that top earners did not have such a large
share of total income since the 1920s, the Journal reported.

The Journal reports that a recent stock boom likely contributed to
higher earnings among those in the top income bracket, with hedge fund
managers and Wall Street attorneys seeing their incomes skyrocket in
recent years.

Another prominent pool or wealthy Americans gathers regularly on
Capitol Hill to write the nation's laws. The Center for Responsive
Politics, which tracks campaign spending and politicians' wealth, says more than
a third of Congress members are millionaires, with at least half the
Senate falling into the millionaires club.

http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/overview.asp

Forbes reported that last year's
incoming class of new Senators did "little to shake the Senate's image
as a millionaires club," with half of the newly elected members having
seven- eight- or nine-figure personal fortunes.

http://www.forbes.com/businessinthebelt ... e-politics
-washington-biz-wash_cx_jh_1120senate.html

Freshman Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) is worth between $64 million and $236
million, and newly elected Sen. Claire McCaskill's (D-MO) fortune is
between $13 million and $29 million.

Roll Call estimates Sen. John Kerry
(D-MA) is the chamber's richest member with an estimated net worth of
$750 million; another Democrat, Wisconsin Sen. Herb Kohl, is among the
chamber's richest with between $220 million and $234 million in
personal assets.

http://www.forbes.com/businessinthebelt ... e-politics
-washington-biz-wash_cx_jh_1120senate.html


Income-Inequality Gap Widens

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1192158 ... =hpp_us_wh
ats_news


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