Incomes are going up somewhat, but they’re going up much faster for high-income families. A report by the Economic Policy Institute provides state-by-state details to show you just how much those in the executive suite are sweeping the floor with the underlings.
CNN helpfully compiled the data into tables which allow you to drill through to see even more demographic information, down to city-level detail from CNN’s Best Places to Live 2005 report.
My state, New Jersey, ranks fourth in income inequality behind Arizona, Texas, and New York. While the average income of the top 5 percent of families in the Garden State is $268,889, the average income of the bottom 20 percent is $20,391.
While those at the top earn an quickly-accelerating income, they purchase bigger and better, setting the standards higher for those who try to keep up without the means. As those without the means continue to try to keep up, prices continue to rise, making neighborhoods unaffordable for people who can’t or won’t live in mounting debt.
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I see more and more stories like this in recent times. Sadly, I think it’s a sign that the US become a nation addicted to greed. You see it in all levels of government and in the corporate world. Not only that, despite all these reports, there is no major entity that is working against this trend. Not Congress, or the Democrats, or the Republicans, or the unions, or anyone else.
I’d hate to say it, but I think this is a sign that best days of being an American have past. It’s now just a nation with a rich ruling class that governs everything to so that it can drain as much as it can from the worker bees. It reminds me of France before the Revolution.
Everyone reading this should beware: This culture of economic Darwinism dictates that you choose which one side of the fence your on. Wolf or sheep? Rich or poor? Master or slave ? Decide for yourself or the culture will decide for you!
Interesting. My state is number 43. After reading Nickel and Dimed in America, I realized that it’s difficult to live on minimum wage anywhere, but if you have to, my state is the place to do it. Looks like there may be some accuracy to that statement.
Ouch! Georgia’s #36!