The Rich Fly High

The Rich Fly High ...

The economic boom that some have enjoyed in the last decade has been nothing more than an economic nightmare for millions of others. Detailing the plight of those the left behind and virtually ignored by the government and the media is a new report by United For a Fair Economy. Here are some of the key statistics from "Divided Decade: Economic Disparity at the Century's Turn"... as well as our own take on the heights that separate us from the really rich ...

"The rising tide has lifted
the yachts to tremendous heights ..."

"The record-breaking economic boom of the 1990s has left Americans more divided at the turn of the millennium. The rising tide has lifted the yachts to tremendous heights, but many Americans are still bailing out their boats after decades of sinking real wages and wealth. Average workers are earning less, adjusting for inflation, than they did a quarter-century ago. The lifeboats of homeless shelters and food banks are overflowing with people caught in the undertow. To make matters worse, the SS America is cruising in a sea of red ink–consumer debt."

— "Divided Decade: Economic Disparity at the Century's Turn"
by Chuck Collins, Chris Hartman and Holly Sklar.
Issued by United For a Fair Economy, December 15th, 1999.

... while the rest of us barely get off the ground

Gaining a Perspective:
How Much is a Billion?

To visualize how much money a billion dollars really is: imagine making a chart on the side of the Empire State Building where the distance between $0 and $40,000 is one foot:

• You'd only get to $33 million before running out of room at the top of the building;

• $1 billion, at scale, would reach to the top of about 30 Empire State Buildings!

• Laid flat, it would take 5.7 miles to lay out $0 to $1 billion. $10 billion? That's 57 miles!!

The first two feet of this chart would cover $0 to $80,000 — or the incomes of the vast majority of all U.S. households ...

In fact, more than half of all U.S. households would find their income listed within the first foot!

• Using the scale above, to chart Bill Gates' $85 billion, you would need to make a chart that would stretch more than 9,817 miles!

More Info:

• Median Household Income: $38,885 (1998) - meaning half of all U.S. households live on this amount or less.

• Despite a 46.5% increase in productivity between 1973 and 1998, a worker earning $25,000 in 1998 is making $1,060 less than they would have in 1973, adjusting for inflation. The real value of the minimum wage has dropped by 27% since 1968.

• The top 1% of households now hold 40% of the nation's wealth (double the amount in 1977); the top 5% holds 60%.

• Personal Savings Rate: 2% (3rd quarter, 1999). Had hovered between 7 and 11% for 34 years until beginning a sharp decline in 1994. Meanwhile, revolving consumer credit debt (mostly credit cards) has soared from $185.0 billion in 1990 to 584.3 billion in 1999.

Sources: Presented in Divided Decade: Economic
Disparity at the Century's Turn, © United For a Fair
Economy. Original sources listed in the report.

Rising Inequality
Change in Family Income, 1979-98
by quintile and top 5%

-5%

15%

38%

64%

Bottom
20%

Next
20%

Middle
20%

Fourth
20%

Top
20%

Top
1%

Source: Presented in Divided Decade: Economic
Disparity at the Century's Turn, © United For a Fair
Economy. Original sources listed in the report.

Selected
Statistics

The disparity in income worsens
when the change in after-tax
family income is examined (1997-1999):

Bottom
20%

Next
20%

Middle
20%

Fourth
20%

Top
20%

Top
1%

-9%

+1%

+8%

+14%

+43%

+115%

The Super-Rich:
Billionaires in the USA

1989		61		Up 306% since 1989
1999		296

Living in Poverty
(under the official poverty line)

1989		31.5 million people
1999		34.5 million people

• About 12.5% of all Americans (1 of every 8) live below the official poverty line of $8,316 for one person or $13,003 for a family of three, including 1 of every 5 children (20%).

• Between 1975 and 1998, the percentage of people living in extreme poverty (50% or less of the official poverty line) rose from 3.7% to 5.1%.

Ratio of CEO Pay
To Average Worker Pay

1960		40-to-1
1998		419-to1

Living Without Health Insurance

1989		13.6% (33.4 million)
1998		16.3% (44.2 million)

Sources: Presented in Divided Decade: Economic
Disparity at the Century's Turn, © United For a Fair
Economy. Original sources listed in the report.