Something to celebrate?

LAND OF THE FREE?

The lost income of workers of all sorts—union and non-union, black and white, male and female, public sector and private sector—can be found in the pockets of the 1 percent.

In 1979, the top 1% earned about 9% of all income; in 2017, the top 1% earned 22% of all income. 

More than half of all income growth since 1976 has ended up in the pockets of the top 1%. The incomes of the top 0.1% have grown even faster. 

In 1965 the typical CEO earned about 20 times as much as the average worker.  In 2017, this ratio was 311. 

Since 1973, labor productivity – the market value of what the typical US worker produces in an hour – has increased by 75%, while real wages (what workers get paid for an hour of work) have barely budged. 

The purchasing power of the minimum wage has fallen by nearly 30%.

3% of US residents (about one in eight) live in poverty. 

The income of the median African American household is about 60% that of the median white household, and this ratio is lower than it was in 1960.  

The wealth of the median African American household is one tenth that of the median white household. 

23% of African Americans live in poverty—nearly three times the rate for whites.

A third of African American children live in poverty.