Nine Economic Facts That Will Make Your Head Spin
Wednesday, 20 February 2013 10:07By Lynn Parramore, AlterNet | Report
How much will you need for medical expenses in retirement? What does it cost to keep 2.5 million Americans behind bars? Here are a few facts and figures that might surprise you.
1. Recovery for the rich, recession for the rest.
Economic recovery is in rather limited supply, it seems. Research by economist Emmanuel Saez shows that the top 1 percent has enjoyed income growth of over 11 percent since the official end of the recession. The other 99 percent hasn’t fared so well, seeing a 0.4 percent decline in income.
The top 10 percent of earners hauled in 46.5 percent of all income in 2011, the highest proportion since 1917 – and that doesn’t even include money earned from investments. The wealthy have benefitted from favorable tax status and the rise in stock prices, while the rest have been hit with a continuing unemployment crisis that has kept wages down. Saez believes this trend will continue in 2013.
2. Half of us are poor or barely scraping by.
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2 comments:
How about this stat? Half the population doesn't pay Income Tax. They live on the backs of the taxpaying citizens
That is only a half truth. much of the tax burden lies in sales taxes, use taxes, property taxes. Every worker pays SS and Medicare. The percentage paid for all of these oten exceeds the percentage paid by the 1%.
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