CNNMoney: Mind the gap: Income inequality, state by state: New report

[DeepModem Mom]

Mind the gap: Income inequality, state by state
New report looks at where the growth in incomes of high-income families has outpaced that of middle- and low-income households.
By Jeanne Sahadi, CNNMoney.com senior writer
January 26, 2006


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) – You don't need to be a statistician to realize that economic growth in the past 20 years hasn't lifted everyone's boat equally.

The good news is that incomes across the board are up. But so is the income gap. That is, incomes for high-income families have risen faster than for everyone else.

But growth in the income gap has been greater in some states than in others, according to a report released Thursday by two liberal think tanks – the Economic Policy Institute and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. (See table below to see where the greatest disparities are.)

For the period between the early 1980s and the early 2000s, the report found that the incomes of the top fifth of families grew faster than those of the bottom fifth of families in 38 states. The states where the gap grew the most were Arizona, New York, Massachusetts, Tennessee and New Jersey.

In only one state – Alaska – did income growth for low-income families outpace that of high-income households....


http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/25/news/economy/income_gap/index.htm?cnn=yes

[Daphne08]

1. As someone who lived this, I can say with authority that this

began in the Reagan administration!

[WePurrsevere]

3. "Trickle Down Economics" never trickled down very far IF at all. n/t

[cyberpj]

8. Nope. It just means they get to piss all over you. nt

[saigon68]

42. Here's what's in store for the POOR

[WhiteTara]

4. Ivan Boesky - Greed is Good n/t

[1932]

6. That was Gordon Gekko, wasn't it?

[WhiteTara]

12. art imitates life

There was a speech during his hayday where he stated this as a theory to drive the economy, or it could have been his protegee Michael Milken.

[1932]

26. You were right...it's attributed to Boesky

"Greed is all right, by the way—I want you to know that," Ivan Boesky told an audience of business students in 1985. "I think greed is healthy. You can be greedy and still feel good about yourself."

And Oliver Stone turned it into the Greed is Good speech in Wall Street.

[WhiteTara]

35. Yes, I remember the looting of the Savings and Loans

Neil Bush was about to be indicted for Silverado Savings and Loan and that very week, we invaded Iraq for the first time (we did that after we told them to invade Kuwait, but who the f*ck cares about that anyway).
Micahel Milken (Boesky's protegee) went on to steal millions more. He went to jail for a couple of years, got barred from trading, got cancer, ate a vegie soy based diet, got well, introduced gm to Archer Daniels Midland, and now we have contaminated food spreading through our food chain that will alter or kill us, but greed is good.
edited for typos

[Straight Shooter]

2. And the reward for those high-income families? Tax cuts! n/t

[barb162]

5. This is just terrible; people need to wake up

as we ship good-paying jobs out to other countries, as unions are broken, etc. We need a labor policy that protects Americans and the Democrats can do this this.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

7. Million dollar home sales up 47% in California: record 48,666 sold in 2005

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=244703&mesg_id=244703

[serryjw]

9. This is a Bushit chart

The average ratio was 40:1 for decades( CEO/LOwest worker in company) It is NOW over 400:1! This chart doesn't show how bad things are for the working class or how GOOD things have been for the upper 1%

[Zynx]

34. I think there was a number that the top 30,000 families have more income

than the bottom 30%(almost 100,000,000) people put together.

[Jdubb32]

10. Our growth for low-income families is un proportional to

china's growth for low-income families. Coincidence i think not. China will be the downfall of us one way our another!

[kainah]

11. glad to see

both that someone is reporting on this and that my state, Wyoming, is at the bottom of the list for wage disparity. Actually, if you look at the chart, the best place to live for the lowest wage disparity is the plains region. North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Montana, Wyoming are all towards the bottom.

[DeepModem Mom]

13. CNN's financial guy reported this, emphasizing that "liberal think tanks"

produced it, and speculating that the "Republicans" might come out with a different study. There is no longer anything that is just true, and not subject to spin from the almighty Right. I guess the guy, couldn't, or didn't want to, report the study without proper obeisance to Rove and his minions.

[Rose Siding]

14. Study Finds Rich-Poor Income Gap Growing

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- The disparity between rich and poor is growing in America as the federal minimum wage has remained flat for years, union membership has declined and industries have faced global competition, according to a study released Thursday.

The report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute, both liberal-leaning think tanks, found the incomes of the poorest 20 percent of families nationally grew by an average of $2,660, or 19 percent, over the past 20 years. Meanwhile, the incomes of the richest fifth of families grew by $45,100, or nearly 59 percent, the study by the Washington-based groups said.

Families in the middle fifth saw their incomes rise 28 percent, or $10,218.

http://www.columbian.com/news/APStories/AP01262006news125704.cfm

Texas leads U.S. in income gap between wealthy, middle-class

AUSTIN — No other state has a wider income gap between its richest and middle class than Texas, according to a national study released today.

At the same time, Texas ranks second only to New York in its income gap between its richest and poorest inhabitants, according to the study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.

"Texas has arguably the most extreme separation between the well off and everyday people in the United States," said Don Baylor, a policy analyst at the Center for Public Policy Priorities, an Austin think tank that advocates for lower-income families.
....
"What we're talking about is a nationwide problem, but it's not surprising that it's stronger in Texas," {Stephen Klineberg, a professor of sociology at Rice University} said. "It's a combination I think of both the tax structure in Texas and the failure of Texas so far to invest in education."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3614000.html

[burrowowl]

15. It has been growing

since Raygun. The Clinton Era gave a tad of relief to the poor but the so-called welfare reform and signing of NAFTA did not help.

[Lindsay]

16. Mission accomplished, or well on its way,

for the wealthy elitist Repugs.

[Selatius]

17. Tax cuts for rich + defunding of education = less opportunities for all

If you want to reduce the income gap, this is the wrong way to do it.

[1932]

18. Also, SST and other gimicks that help companies avoid paying state inc.

tax.

I read somewhere that in the last decade or two, states have lost 4 out of 9 dollars in corporate income tax to subsidies and other giveaways to corporations.

It has been a real race to the bottom to see which states could shift entire tax burden off corporations an on to working and middle class. And what has it all been worth? It's helped states become the last jumping off point as industries head off to developing countries.

[prolesunited]

29. Fact is that's not their goal

They want to eliminate the middle class. Their vision for America is to return to the glory days of the Robber Barons when you were either rich or poor. And, if the poor die from hunger or lack of health care, who gives a shit. They will be well-protected behind the walls of their gate communities.

[ticapnews]

19. If people would just choose to be born into wealthier families

this wouldn't happen.

Come on, people!

[jus_the_facts]

20. same shit different millennia....

:nopity:

[PBass]

22. It's because the rich work harder and they are better people

than the poor. :sarcasm:

Really, the Democrats need to OWN issues like this one!!!

[bluestateguy]

21. Texas is a terrible place to be poor

I would urge all of these Katrina evacuees to strongly consider going someplace else other than this state unless they have real good jobs lined up. Texas is not a nice place for poor people.

[Skittles]

23. Texas is not a nice place for GOOD people

it truly sucks here

[justabob]

28. Right

Texas is at the bottom of the list for all things good, and at the top of lists for all things bad. It makes me so mad because I love Texas.... it is just sooo hard to live here.

[Skittles]

32. yes, Texas could be nice

it has just been run into the ground by corrupt, ignorant conservatives

[AnneD]

38. A good thing about Texas...

there are a lot of people trying to do inspite of the odds. And just because they are good doesn't mean they are push over namby pants pansies. We grow em tough out here.

[Skittles]

40. I'm not homegrown but I am tough

one must be tough to be a Democrat in this f***ing conservative hellhole

[AnneD]

46. Like Johnny Cash said

in a boy named Sue..I gave that name cause I knew you'd get tough or die.

[Skittles]

47. lol

my family knows me as SUE - but then, I am a girl. :D

[AnneD]

48. Truth ...

is stranger than fiction.

[The_Casual_Observer]

24. How many 20,000 sq ft houses and sky boxes are enough?

They would buy souls to live longer if they could.

[0007]

25. When there is no increase in the minimum wage and the CEO

is making over 400 times what the wage earner takes home, it is no wonder the gap is growing between the rich and the poor.

I'm just amazed at how this country is sitting quieting and watching this happen.

[lovuian]

27. The Rich got Richer and the Poor got Poorer!!!

and classes will rise up thats Marx's theory...

[oneighty]

39. And inspired by Jesus

the poor will storm the temples of greed and destroy the money changers.

Sure we will.

180

[kineneb]

30. cost-of-living expenses

are different in various regions...chart does not take into consideration how far a dollar will go in different states...just a thought...

[leftchick]

31. biggest gap is in Arizona....

Mind the Gap: Income inequality, state by state
The Economic Policy Institute and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities ranked each state according to the ratio of the average income for the top 5% of families to the average income for the bottom 20% of families. Income listed is after federal tax and includes capital gains. Click on state name for more statistics on major cities and towns.

Rank, State, Avg income of top 5% of families, Avg income of bottom 20% of families Top-to-bottom,
ratio

1 Arizona $223,081 $15,719 14.2
2 Texas $203,174 $14,724 13.8
3 New York $216,061 $16,076 13.4
4 New Jersey $268,889 $20,391 13.2
5 Kentucky $193,766 $14,814 13.1
6 Tennessee $187,026 $14,303 13.1
7 Florida $199,892 $15,396 13.0
8 California $207,363 $16,773 12.4
9 North Carolina $183,253 $14,884 12.3
10 Pennsylvania $223,152 $18,548 12.0
11 Massachusetts $233,108 $19,690 11.8
12 Maryland $253,923 $21,480 11.8
13 Arkansas $163,908 $13,888 11.8
14 Alabama $172,029 $14,765 11.7
15 Washington $195,170 $16,911 11.5
16 Louisiana $153,334 $13,347 11.5
17 Kansas $209,125 $18,284 11.4
18 New Mexico $157,011 $13,748 11.4
19 Colorado $215,109 $18,983 11.3
20 Illinois $203,876 $18,032 11.3
21 Michigan $200,814 $17,927 11.2
22 West Virginia $147,434 $13,208 11.2
23 Virginia $200,191 $18,110 11.1
24 Connecticut $231,928 $21,003 11.0
25 Mississippi $145,342 $13,456 10.8
26 Hawaii $208,340 $19,294 10.8
27 Ohio $195,175 $18,216 10.7
28 Rhode Island $200,859 $18,916 10.6
29 South Carolina $157,634 $14,957 10.5
30 Indiana $195,217 $18,590 10.5
31 Maine $164,232 $15,975 10.3
32 Oregon $175,976 $17,367 10.1
33 Minnesota $223,411 $22,608 9.9
34 Utah $192,142 $19,594 9.8
35 New Hampshire $226,178 $23,128 9.8
36 Georgia $158,382 $16,345 9.7
37 Oklahoma $150,011 $15,483 9.7
38 Missouri $176,320 $18,482 9.5
39 Nevada $180,521 $19,143 9.4
40 Vermont $176,291 $18,846 9.4
41 Delaware $188,435 $20,225 9.3
42 Montana $135,164 $14,788 9.1
43 Idaho $162,923 $17,847 9.1
44 North Dakota $147,519 $16,805 8.8
45 Alaska $180,148 $20,533 8.8
46 Wisconsin $174,919 $20,197 8.7
47 South Dakota $155,427 $18,353 8.5
48 Iowa $155,722 $18,503 8.4
49 Nebraska $160,862 $19,242 8.4
50 Wyoming $145,587 $18,171 8.0
Note: Analysis based on data from the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey.

[krkaufman]

33. Am I missing something... or does the entire article/chart neglect...

... to discuss the effect of inflation?

The only comment from article close to acknowledging that rising income for the bottom 20% may be moot was...

But since their incomes aren't growing as fast, they have a hard time keeping up, leading to what Frank calls "welfare loss." For example, as home prices rise, it becomes harder to afford a home in a neighborhood with good public schools.

But housing is just one factor. At what rate did the cost of living rise? I expect you'd find that the minimal gains of the bottom 20% were negated or outpaced by inflation.

[FlaGranny]

37. Cost of living?

I wanted to buy some tomatoes the other day and they were $3.49 A POUND! - in Florida - in the winter - and they are in season right now. That was in a grocery - they can be found for less in roadside markets. I didn't get tomatoes.

[Gormy Cuss]

43. The rising tide floats all yachts but doesn't do much for leaky dinghies

What is fascinating is that even making arbitrary cuts (why compare top 5% to bottom 20%? Why not 1 % to 20%, or 5% to 5%?) it's hard to make the case that the high income households aren't amassing wealth at a much more rapid rate.

[apple_ridge]

36. As Tom Andrews, former rep said,

"We've been trickled on long enough."

[Catchawave]

41. Minimum Wage state ballot initiatives !

More info here from USA Today article from last June:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-05-30-minimum-wage_x.htm

[dysfunctional press]

44. A rising tide DOES NOT lift ALL boats-

I hate it when politicians, especially Dems use that tired expression that "a rising tide lifts all boats"- it might sound pretty- but it's totally untrue- the tide can't rise everywhere at the same time- in order for the tide to rise in one part of the world, it has to go down somewhere else- and that's more akin to how it actually works economically as well- as one part of the world gains, another part loses ground- as the chinese manufacturing sector grows- that in the U.S. shrinks...etc.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

45. All Praise Ted Stevens.

:scared:

[earth mom]

49. This should be THE ISSUE that the dems hammer-Relentlessly! eom