Today's Article
America’s growing
income inequality now
can be more easily
understood, thanks to
a simple guide recently
released from a top
budget policy
organization.
income inequality now
can be more easily
understood, thanks to
a simple guide recently
released from a top
budget policy
organization.
The American Spark
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Guide To US Income Inequality Released By Economic Think-Tank
By Cliff Montgomery - Dec. 11th, 2011
America’s growing income inequality now can be more easily understood, thanks to a simple guide recently
released from a top budget policy organization.
“The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) is one of the nation’s premier policy organizations
working at the federal and state levels on fiscal policy and public programs that affect low- and moderate-
income families and individuals,” declares the Center’s mission statement.
The American Spark is proud to offer its readers a link to the full CBPP report. Below, the Spark has reprinted
the introduction to that fine study:
“The broad facts of income inequality over the past six decades are easily summarized:
“Data from a variety of sources contribute to this broad picture of strong growth and shared prosperity for the
immediate postwar generation, followed by slower growth and growing inequality since the 1970s. Within these
broad trends, however, different data tell slightly different parts of the story, and no single source of data is
better for all purposes than the others.
“This guide consists of four sections.
“The first describes the commonly used sources and statistics on income and discusses their relative strengths
and limitations in understanding trends in income and inequality.
“The second provides an overview of the trends revealed in those key data sources.
“The third and fourth sections supply additional information on wealth, which complements the income data as
a measure of how the most well-off Americans are doing; and poverty, which measures how the least well-off
Americans are doing.”
Like what you're reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of The American Spark
e-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be
delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!
By Cliff Montgomery - Dec. 11th, 2011
America’s growing income inequality now can be more easily understood, thanks to a simple guide recently
released from a top budget policy organization.
“The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) is one of the nation’s premier policy organizations
working at the federal and state levels on fiscal policy and public programs that affect low- and moderate-
income families and individuals,” declares the Center’s mission statement.
The American Spark is proud to offer its readers a link to the full CBPP report. Below, the Spark has reprinted
the introduction to that fine study:
“The broad facts of income inequality over the past six decades are easily summarized:
- The years from the end of World War II into the 1970s were ones of substantial economic growth and
broadly shared prosperity.
- Incomes grew rapidly and at roughly the same rate up and down the income ladder, roughly
doubling in inflation-adjusted terms between the late 1940s and early 1970s.
- The income gap between those high up the income ladder and those on the middle and lower
rungs — while substantial — did not change much during this period.
- Beginning in the 1970s, economic growth slowed and the income gap widened.
- Income growth for households in the middle and lower parts of the distribution slowed sharply, while
incomes at the top continued to grow strongly.
- The concentration of income at the very top of the distribution rose to levels last seen more than 80
years ago (during the ‘Roaring Twenties’).
- Wealth (the value of a household's property and financial assets...[minus] the value of its debts) is much
more highly concentrated than income, although the wealth data do not show a dramatic increase in
concentration at the very top the way the income data do.
“Data from a variety of sources contribute to this broad picture of strong growth and shared prosperity for the
immediate postwar generation, followed by slower growth and growing inequality since the 1970s. Within these
broad trends, however, different data tell slightly different parts of the story, and no single source of data is
better for all purposes than the others.
“This guide consists of four sections.
“The first describes the commonly used sources and statistics on income and discusses their relative strengths
and limitations in understanding trends in income and inequality.
“The second provides an overview of the trends revealed in those key data sources.
“The third and fourth sections supply additional information on wealth, which complements the income data as
a measure of how the most well-off Americans are doing; and poverty, which measures how the least well-off
Americans are doing.”
Like what you're reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of The American Spark
e-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be
delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!
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