Income Gap Widens As Poor Take Hit

[Kadie]

Income Gap Widens As Poor Take Hit
Poverty Jumps To 11-Year High
HOPE YEN, Associated Press Writer

POSTED: 12:46 pm PDT September 28, 2009
UPDATED: 2:47 pm PDT September 28, 2009


WASHINGTON -- The recession has hit middle-income and poor families hardest, widening the economic gap between the richest and poorest Americans as rippling job layoffs ravaged household budgets.

The wealthiest 10 percent of Americans -- those making more than $138,000 each year -- earned 11.4 times the roughly $12,000 made by those living near or below the poverty line in 2008, according to newly released census figures. That ratio was an increase from 11.2 in 2007 and the previous high of 11.22 in 2003.

Household income declined across all groups, but at sharper percentage levels for middle-income and poor Americans. Median income fell last year from $52,163 to $50,303, wiping out a decade's worth of gains to hit the lowest level since 1997.

Poverty jumped sharply to 13.2 percent, an 11-year high.

"No one should be surprised at the increased disparity," said Richard Freeman, an economist at Harvard University. "Unemployment hurts normal workers who do not have the golden parachutes the folks at the top have."

Analysts attributed the widening gap to the wave of layoffs in the economic downturn that have devastated household budgets. They said while the richest Americans may be seeing reductions in executive pay, those at the bottom of the income ladder are often unemployed and struggling to get by.

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http://www.kcra.com/money/21140098/detail.html

[bbinacan]

1. World to end tomorrow

the poor, minorities, and women to be hit the hardest.:evilgrin:

[madokie]

2. It always hits us the hardest

when someone has to spend a good percent of their income for the task of surviving they always take a bigger hit :shrug:

[endless october]

3. outsourcing sure has helped the economy, hasn't it? n/t

[anonymous171]

5. B-b-but the rising tide was supposed to lift all boats! nt

[midnight]

4. This economic hit was completely brought to you compliments

of our experts in the banking field. They are so clever, and convincing. They talked our elected official many of them attorneys into thinking they were special and needed no oversite. When a good amount of damage was made precivible then they moved in for the real heist. Our elected official-mostly attornies, did nothing, but hand over the loot.

Now these criminals in the insurance industry are following suite. We hope you are with us Mr. President! Turn this around.

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

6. That gap has been widening for forty years, now; especially widened from '01 to '08.

What is being suffered is the AFTERMATH OF REPUBLICAN RULE.

NO ONE wants to acknowledge how bad this situation would have been if the Democratic party had ACTUALLY folded as much as the extremists would want everyone to believe; if the best of the liberal Democrats hadn't fought,... The absence of gratitude and comprehension amazes me.

This nation's hope of "democracy" would be DROWNING in aristocracy, corporatocracy,...a for-real "third-country" position where all of us would tremble every time we openly voiced our disapproval of our government.

I mean, seriously, you all,....calm down, some,...please.

Please.