Census Finds Record Gap Between Rich and Poor

Young people hit hardest

By the Associated Press

Posted Sep 28, 2010 6:48 AM CDT

(AP) – The income gap between the richest and poorest Americans grew last year to its widest amount on record as young adults and children in particular struggled to stay afloat in the recession. The top-earning 20% of Americans—those making more than $100,000 each year—received 49.4% of all income generated in the US, compared with the 3.4% earned by those below the poverty line, according to 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. "More than other countries, we have a very unequal income distribution, where compensation goes to the top in a winner-take-all economy," said a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor specializing in poverty. Lesser-skilled adults ages 18 to 34 had the largest jumps in poverty last year as employers kept or hired older workers for the dwindling jobs available.

A homeless person sits under blankets at a Wall Street subway station Wednesday, May 20, 2009 in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

CLICK BELOW TO VOTE

67%

12%

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Getty Images

Bar Offers Free Boob Job—With a Catch (HuffPost)

Sign That a Really Famous Actress Is Finally Pregnant (Celebuzz)

Why Women (Sometimes) Fake It (The Stir)

My Husband Sleeps With His Mom (Slate)

Crocodile Bites Off Man's Testicles (HuffPost)

Partner Links

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

Showing 3 of 25 comments

BackAgain

Sep 29, 2010 4:41 AM CDT

Duhhhh- if you do not finish high school you will not have a job meaning you earn a big fat 0000000$ in income. The rest of us on the right went to college for a useful degree, read not a left wing liberal art degree. Surprise now we can easily earn 6 figures now by showing up EVERYDAY, not just when WE feel like it because we hate THE MAN. If you do not like working for THE MAN then shut up and put up and start your own damned company and show the rest of us freaking smart you are by becoming so rich that we work for you. HA HA never happen you whinny cry baby left wing turds.

wwwonderer

Sep 28, 2010 11:28 AM CDT

Wait. You mean the rich is getting richer and the poor are getting poorer? There's a switch.

Rocket448

Sep 28, 2010 11:10 AM CDT

The $100k income numbers are pablum. What is truly alarming is the consolidation of wealth among the very top earners in America: the percentage of families with income over $1 million rose 18% compared to 2008, and the households earning $5 million or more rose 17%. This growth is attributed to participation in the stock market rebound. Holy cow. This reminds me of some lyrics in the very old song "Ain't We Got Fun?" popular during the Great Depression, which sang "the rich get richer and the poor get children". The gap between rich and poor is getting wider, and the rich are getting richer. Something's gotta give.

What's Popular Now on Facebook

Google Glasses Will Push Info to Your Eyes

Ga. Democrat Introduces Bill to Ban Vasectomies

Associated Press (Source Grid »)

Money • US

recession • poverty • rich • income disparity • Census data • recession depression • income gap • census

More Newser Stories

Wealth Gap Between Whites, Minorities Widest in 25 Years

Census data show ratio is 20 to 1 between whites, blacks

(NEWSER) - Thanks to the recession, the wealth gap between whites and minorities is at its widest level in 25 years. Census data show that the median wealth of white US households was $113,149 in 2009: That's 20 times that of black households ($5,677) and 18 times that of Hispanic households ($6,325), the AP reports. One big reason: Predominantly younger minorities likely lost value in their main asset, their home, when the housing market crashed. Older white people, on the other hand, are more likely to have holdings in the stock market, which started rebounding in mid-2009. More»

For Once, Super-Rich Not Getting Richer

Recession halts 30-year rise of the super-wealthy

(NEWSER) - Since the 1970s, the rich have been getting richer with stunning consistency, but now, thanks to the recession, that decades-long run has hit a wall, the New York Times reports. Wall Street pay is indeed returning to normal, but for every investment banker who’s benefiting from that, several more are unemployed. And unlike the last recession, they likely won’t be able to immediately recover on the back of a new bubble. More»

Paycheck Data Dismal in 2010

...Unless you were a millionaire

(NEWSER) - The Social Security Administration quietly released payroll data for 2010 yesterday, and they were “in a word, awful,” writes David Cay Johnston at Reuters —assuming you’re not a millionaire, that is. The number of people making at least $1 million rose by 20%, jumping from 78,000 to almost 94,000. But for everyone else, there were fewer jobs and they paid less. The median paycheck fell 1.2% to $26,364, or $507 a week, its lowest level, adjusting for inflation, since 1999. More»

1 in 4 US Counties 'Dying'

More deaths than births recorded in rising number of areas: census

(NEWSER) - Almost a quarter of America's 3,142 counties are slowly dying, according to the US Census Bureau. Some 760 counties are now recording more deaths than births, census figures show, and what demographers call "natural decrease" is accelerating as the downturn pushes birth rates down and forces young people to move to where the jobs are. "Dying counties" can be found all over the country, from the Rust Belt to rural areas in the South, and even in some parts of fast-growing California. More»

A Third of Working Families Live in Near-Poverty

Recession has hurt more than just the unemployed

(NEWSER) - Recession lamenters often focus on the unemployed, but the employed are taking a beating, too. Nearly one in three working families in America is now considered low income, meaning they earn less than twice the official poverty threshold, according to a report released today from the Working Poor Families Project. The number has increased in recent years thanks to layoffs and wage cuts, from 28% in 2007 to more than 30% last year. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Census Finds Record Gap Between Rich and Poor

Young people hit hardest

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

recession • poverty • rich • income disparity • Census data • recession depression • income gap • census

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Wealth Gap Between Whites, Minorities Widest in 25 Years

Census data show ratio is 20 to 1 between whites, blacks

For Once, Super-Rich Not Getting Richer

Recession halts 30-year rise of the super-wealthy

Paycheck Data Dismal in 2010

...Unless you were a millionaire

1 in 4 US Counties 'Dying'

More deaths than births recorded in rising number of areas: census

A Third of Working Families Live in Near-Poverty

Recession has hurt more than just the unemployed

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?

Census Finds Record Gap Between Rich and Poor

Young people hit hardest

Bookmark & Share

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

recession • poverty • rich • income disparity • Census data • recession depression • income gap • census

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Wealth Gap Between Whites, Minorities Widest in 25 Years

Census data show ratio is 20 to 1 between whites, blacks

For Once, Super-Rich Not Getting Richer

Recession halts 30-year rise of the super-wealthy

Paycheck Data Dismal in 2010

...Unless you were a millionaire

1 in 4 US Counties 'Dying'

More deaths than births recorded in rising number of areas: census

A Third of Working Families Live in Near-Poverty

Recession has hurt more than just the unemployed

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?