Quote of the day – September 12, 2012
New Census Bureau figures released today, show that 15 percent of the U.S. population lived in poverty in 2011. Over 46 million Americans lived at or below the poverty threshold of a household income of $23,201 per year for a family of four. One in five of our children live in poverty and over one-third of black and Latino children are struggling through impoverishment.
In 2011, we saw the first one-year increase in income inequality [L1] since 1993. The top 5% gained 5.3% in income in 2011 over 2010. The lowest quintile saw little change, but the second-lowest, middle, and fourth-lowest quintiles all experienced a decline in income over the year. Sadly, those who “occupied” Wall Street and city squares across the country in 2011, were right: All of the income gains have concentrated at the top, while the rest of us saw a deterioration or stagnation in our wages and income.
- An excerpt from Karen Dolan‘s piece for IPS: “Record Poverty Persists While Gap Between Rich and Rest of Us Increases”
