The fact that
America's richest households are financially head and shoulders above everyone
else isn't exactly news, but now, it seems, the gap between them and the “middle-class”
is the widest it's been since the Federal Reserve began collecting data 30
years ago. Yes, the Pew Research Center has found that in 2013, the median
wealth of rich families was 6.6 times that of middle-income families, and 70
times that of low-income households. Since 1983, the upper tier has doubled its
median wealth.
While high-income households have been climbing steadily up
the wealth ladder over the last three years, middle-income households have been
paralyzed since the recession, unable for to make up for what was lost.
(Middle- and low-income household wealth fell by around 40 percent in 2007,
while median wealth of the upper tier declined by 17 percent—so the rich didn't
have as much catching up to do). Between 2010 and 2013, America's high-income
households have raised their median wealth by an average of $44,000, while
middle-income wealth has remained stagnant. A majority of Americans (and
especially, racial and ethnic minorities) have yet to really start their
recoveries. Their wealth has receded to early 1990s-levels, and so far, it's
staying there.
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