To: RetiredNow who wrote (421 ) 4/9/2014 1:42:46 AM From: John Vosilla Read Replies (1) | Respond to Things are looking fragile right now. The gap between rich and poor has fluctuated greatly over time, but there are signals that the country is going back to a divide not seen in a long time. Back in 1928, the top 1 percent of earners received about a quarter of all pre-tax income. The bottom 90 percent received just over half of it. Fast forward to the Great Depression and World War II. America experienced a time of economic change and development that dramatically reshaped U.S. income distribution. In 1944, under Franklin D. Roosevelt, the wealthy weren't quite as wealthy. The top 1 percent saw their income share sink to 11 percent. Meanwhile, the bottom 90 percent saw their income share rise to 67 percent. Through the '50s and '60s and early '70s, decades of economic growth brought prosperity for all. Each economic group's income share remained fairly constant . Then came the late 1970s, where under President Carter, the top 1 percent saw their share begin to rise and the bottom 90 percent saw theirs begin to fall. Between then and now, the share of income gains captured by top earners grew. The top 1 percent saw a 45 percent increase under Clinton and a 65 percent increase under Bush. That number has dramatically increased since Obama's inauguration in 2009. By 2012, the top 1 percent was back to where it was decades ago -- taking in about a quarter of all pre-tax income. Yet the bottom 90 percent saw their share fall below 50 percent for the first time in history. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/01/21/as-obama-hammers-income-inequality-gap-grows-under-his-presidency/
