WEALTH OF WEALTHIEST REACHES NEW HIGH

 

U.S. income gap widens

 

Income-Inequality Gap Widens
Boom in Financial Markets parallels Rise in Share for Wealthiest Americans
The Wall Street Journal Friday, 12 October 2007

By GREG IP

NEW YORK — The richest Americans' share of national income has
hit a postwar record, surpassing the highs reached in the 1990s
bull market, and underlining the divergence of economic fortunes
blamed for fueling anxiety among American workers.

The wealthiest 1% of Americans earned 21.2% of all income in 2005, according to new data from the Internal Revenue Service.
That is up sharply from 19% in 2004, and surpasses the previous high of 20.8% set in 2000, at the peak of the previous bull market in stocks.

The bottom 50% earned 12.8% of all income, down from 13.4% in
2004 and a bit less than their 13% share in 2000.

There once was a prosperous society without
such inequity. We waged war against that society.