Who got the cream?

 I'm sure readers of the blog have become blurry-eyed to its constant use of statistics that demonstrates capitalism's failures especially on the providing a decent level of income for working people.

As Robert Burns said, "But facts are chiels that winna ding, An' downa be disputed"

U.S. wage data released this week reveal the continuation of a trend that began at the end of the 1970s, and which has given the United States the dubious distinction of having the worst income inequality among most-developed countries. 

The Economic Policy Institute reports that between 1979 and 2019, the top 1% of people in the U.S.—whose mean income was nearly $738,000 in 2018— have enjoyed 160% income growth, while wages for the bottom 90% have stagnated, rising just 26% over the same 40-year period. 

The figures showed massive inequality even among the top 1%, as the highest 0.1%—those making an average of $2.82 million—skyrocketed 345% since 1979. 

In every period since 1979, wages for the bottom 90% were continuously redistributed upwards to the top 10% and frequently to the very highest 1.0% and 0.1%.

For last year, 2019, the data show a continuation, with annual wages rising fastest for those in the top 10% while those in the bottom 90% saw below-average wage growth.

Over Last 30 Years, Wages for Top 1% Soared by 160% While Wages of Bottom 90% Actually Went Down | Common Dreams Views