Doug Levitt 2

Disparity

Over the last 30 years, pay for executives has gone from 39 times what the average worker makes, to more than 1,000 times what the average worker makes (Paul Krugman). Over roughly the past 30 years, Krugman notes, the average annual salary expressed in 1998 dollars (adjusted for inflation) rose from approximately $32,500 to $35,900, about 10 percent. By comparison, pay for the top 100 CEOs soared from $1.3 million, which is 39 times the pay for the average worker, to $37.5 million today, which is more than 1,000 times what the average worker now makes.

In 2004, the wealthiest one percent of households held more of the country’s total net worth than the bottom 90 percent of households combined. (Census figures. Income, Earnings, and Poverty Data From the 2005 American Community Survey)

In 2004 median net worth for white households was $141,000, more than five times higher than the $25,000 median net worth of nonwhite folks. Source: Federal Reserve Board, Survey of Consumer Finances, 2004.

Lees verder: http://greyhounddiaries.org/GDP/Poverty_in_America.html