income inequality

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By Next Year, Richest 1% to Own More Than Other 99%
By Next Year, Richest 1% to Own More Than Other 99%
new report
Jan 19, 2015 7:47 AM CST

By Next Year, Richest 1% to Own More Than Other 99%

Oxfam calls for 7-point plan to address inequality

(Newser) - The rich really are getting richer—and by 2016, they'll own more than the rest of the world, says a research paper published by anti-poverty charity Oxfam. The paper shows that global wealth owned by the richest 1% jumped from 44% in 2009 to 48% in 2014, putting this...

World's Richest Add $500K Per Minute

That's collectively speaking, but still pretty impressive

(Newser) - The global charity Oxfam has a new report pointing out that the number of billionaires in the world has doubled since the financial crisis. Specifically, the billionaires' club has grown from 793 in March 2009 to 1,645 in March 2014, reports CNBC . Oxfam says the rising numbers are another...

1% Even Richer Than Thought
 1% Even Richer Than Thought
STUDY SAYS
Jul 16, 2014 7:40 AM CDT

1% Even Richer Than Thought

Richest Americans control up to 37% of wealth

(Newser) - Just how rich are the super-rich? Apparently a lot of them are too rich to bother responding to surveys asking them how rich they are, and economist Philip Vermeulen believes that has led to their wealth being underestimated. In a new analysis, the senior European Central Bank economist estimates that...

Clinton: Bill and I Aren't Like the 'Truly Well Off'

We pay our taxes, she says

(Newser) - In a wide-ranging Hillary Clinton interview with the Guardian , one line is getting the most attention: Clinton's claim that she and Bill aren't like the "truly well off," despite have earned more than $100 million since they left the White House in 2001. Asked if she...

In a First, Canada&#39;s Middle Class Is Richer Than US&#39;
In a First, Canada's Middle Class Is Richer Than US'
in case you missed it
Apr 26, 2014 2:46 PM CDT

In a First, Canada's Middle Class Is Richer Than US'

New York Times breaks down world income

(Newser) - Sorry, middle-class residents of the US. Your long reign as the richest middle class in the world has come to an end, reports the New York Times . Canada, which caught up to America in 2010 with a median after-tax income of $75,000 for a family of four, is the...

Amazon's Top Seller: a 685-Page Economics Book

Thomas Piketty addresses income inequality

(Newser) - Thomas Piketty's book Capital in the Twenty-First Century may not be a quick read, but it's flying off the (digital) shelves. What makes a 685-page book on economic history, translated from French, Amazon's bestseller ? Well, the reviews have been great; Paul Krugman calls it "truly...

Why Resentment Against Super-Rich Is Increasing
Why Resentment Against Super-Rich Is Increasing
OPINION
Mar 21, 2014 11:44 AM CDT

Why Resentment Against Super-Rich Is Increasing

People resent billionaires only when their own wealth is stagnating or worse: Catherine Rampell

(Newser) - Rhetoric against the uber-rich is getting so heated that billionaires have resorted to trotting out Holocaust comparisons . But the anger is rising not because normal folks hate the 0.1% and resent their good fortune, but because their own wealth is either stagnant or shrinking, writes Catherine Rampell at the...

Republicans Get Smarter About Poverty
Republicans Get Smarter
About Poverty
OPINION
Jan 22, 2014 1:40 PM CST

Republicans Get Smarter About Poverty

Doyle McManus: Income equality is not a partisan issue

(Newser) - Republicans seem to have shifted thinking about income inequality and the plight of poor people, writes Doyle McManus in the Los Angeles Times . Conservative stalwarts Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio are among those pitching proposals to help low-income Americans make ends meet, perhaps learning a lesson from Mitt Romney's...

85 Richest People Have as Much Money as Poorest Half
85 Richest People Have as Much Money as Poorest Half
NEW REPORT
Jan 20, 2014 7:23 AM CST

85 Richest People Have as Much Money as Poorest Half

And wealthiest 1% of population has 46% of world's wealth: Oxfam report

(Newser) - Here's a shocking detail from a new Oxfam report: The poorest half of the entire global population, comprised of 3.5 billion people, has as much money as the wealthiest 85 people around the world. How much is that, exactly? More than $1.6 trillion. And if you look...

Raise the Minimum Wage? No, Let&#39;s Scrap It
Raise the Minimum Wage?
No, Let's Scrap It
OPINION
Dec 6, 2013 11:44 AM CST

Raise the Minimum Wage? No, Let's Scrap It

John Aziz argues for a basic income policy instead

(Newser) - The idea of raising the minimum wage is a popular one , but not a very good one, writes John Aziz for The Week . His idea? Abolish the minimum wage, and replace it with a "basic income policy." There are two types: Either the government pays anyone whose income...

Almost 1 in 3 Bank Tellers Need Public Assistance

And that's costing taxpayers almost $900 million a year

(Newser) - You probably don't think of bank tellers the same way you think about, say, the fast food workers protesting today , but they, too, have ample reason to complain about their wages, a new report suggests. Nearly a third of tellers are on some form of public assistance, according to...

Hunger Games Makeup Tie-In Is Seriously Messed Up

Cover Girl's 'Capitol Collection' campaign glorifies the bad guys

(Newser) - CoverGirl's new Hunger Games tie-in marketing campaign is one of the more creative and well-executed you'll ever see. "It is also one of the most disturbing," writes Andrew Slack in the LA Times . The line is called the "Capitol Collection," a reference to the...

Middle Class Was 'Historical Fluke'—and We Let It Die

Edward McClelland thinks government action is necessary to prevent aristocracy

(Newser) - It's a sign of Edward McClelland's age that he remembers the middle class. He grew up in an automaking town in the 1970s, where even high school dropouts could get jobs that would support a family and a mortgage payment. Everyone assumed this was capitalism's triumphant endpoint,...

Top 1% Took Record Share of US Income Last Year

Perhaps because they were cashing in stock ahead of new tax rules

(Newser) - The pay gap between the richest 1% and the rest of America widened to a record last year. The top 1% of earners collected 19.3% of household income in 2012, their largest share in Internal Revenue Service figures going back a century, according to an analysis of IRS figures...

The Economy Is Just Like a Plane: Coach Sucks
The Economy Is Just Like
a Plane: Coach Sucks
OPINION
Aug 7, 2013 1:45 PM CDT

The Economy Is Just Like a Plane: Coach Sucks

And first class is constantly getting nicer

(Newser) - Take a good look at first class on the way to your cramped coach seat the next time you take a flight, because "airline seating may be the best concrete expression of what's happened to the economy in recent decades," writes Harold Meyerson at the Washington Post...

Wealthiest 20% Get Lion's Share of Tax Breaks

Democrats and Republicans both hail new CBO report

(Newser) - The top 20% of households in terms of income get a bit more than half of the 10 most significant tax breaks in the code, according to a new Congressional Budget Office analysis, with an outsized 17% of all savings going to the richest 1%. The report is being both...

Celeb Worship a Sign American Dream Is Dying

George Packer thinks our celebrity culture is exacerbating inequality

(Newser) - Watching the Great Gatsby might give you a shock of recognition, because it hails from a time like our own: One that's lousy with inequality, observes George Packer in the New York Times . Celebrities, he argues, function as "new household gods" for a population losing faith, and they...

Rich? You&#39;ll Probably Live Longer, Too
 Rich? You'll Probably 
 Live Longer, Too 
studies show
Mar 11, 2013 2:40 PM CDT

Rich? You'll Probably Live Longer, Too

Studies show link between life expectancy, income gap

(Newser) - Research shows a disturbing trend in the US: As life expectancy goes up, the life expectancy gap between rich and poor is widening. While US life expectancy hit 78.5 years in 2009, most gains went to those whose income is the highest. To illustrate the trend, the Washington Post...

Dear Fellow Republicans, Income Gap Is Un-American

Sheila Bair: Size of disparity defies GOP principles, too

(Newser) - Sheila Bair describes herself as "a capitalist and a lifelong Republican," and she thinks a reasonable level of income inequality makes for a healthy economy. But the current disparity between the uber-rich and the rest of us is ridiculous, writes the former FDIC chair in the New York ...

Robots Are Taking Our Jobs
 Robots Are Taking Our Jobs 
Paul Krugman
Dec 10, 2012 1:03 PM CST

Robots Are Taking Our Jobs

Paul Krugman and the Financial Times discuss the impact of technology on labor

(Newser) - Corporate profits are soaring in the US, yet the economy is depressed. Why? Because capital is doing fine at the expense of labor, Paul Krugman observes in today's New York Times . Yes, that sounds like "an old-fashioned, almost Marxist sort of discussion," but it's the reality...

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