Ironic that yesterday I was writing about "how much do we really need??" and this article (read below) appears in the paper this morning.
A state or society that has a definite desparity between the "haves" and "have nots" is walking on a "slippery slope". Anyone who studied World History in high school or college should remember that some of the most significant and dangerous events have been triggered by a suffering "underclass" seeking a way out of its misery. Think about the overthrow of the Russian Czar at the turn of the century, the German people's sufferings after WWI was a fertile ground for the philosophies of Adolf Hitler and the list could go on and on!
I think that those "in charge" (and I am not really sure just who is really in charge anymore...) need to think about this....this could be a growing problem and a factor in national security.
Citizens need career and life planning more than ever....which economic group would YOU like to belong to??
here is the article below:
Study says Texas leads U.S. in income gap between rich and middle-class
AUSTIN (AP) - The income gap between rich and middle- class families is wider in Texas than in any other state, and the gap between rich and poor families is the second-widest in the nation, a study released Thursday found.
In the early 2000s, the average income of the richest 20 percent of Texas families was $118,971, almost three times the average income of the middle 20 percent of families, which was $41,015, according to the study conducted by the Washington, D.C.-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute.
The richest 20 percent of Texas families made just over eight times as much as the poorest 20 percent of families, whose average income was $14,724, the study found. Nationally, the average income of the richest families was $122,152, 2.6 times higher than the average income of families in the middle and 7.3 times higher than the average income of the poorest families.
The study, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, also found that in Texas and nationwide, the incomes of the richest families climbed substantially over the past two decades, while less wealthy families saw only modest income gains.
Elizabeth McNichol, a senior fellow with the center, said the uneven growth violates a fundamental principle of our economic system - that workers will be rewarded for helping our economy grow.
"When income growth is concentrated at the top of the income scale, the people at the bottom have a much harder time lifting themselves out of poverty and giving their children a decent start in life," she said.
The study blames a number of factors for the growth in income inequality, including long periods of high unemployment, globalization, the loss of manufacturing jobs and the expansion of low-wage service jobs.
It suggests states could narrow the gap by raising the minimum wage, offering low-wage workers support services such as transportation or child care, and increasing their reliance on income taxes rather than sales taxes, which the authors say take a larger percentage of income from low- and middle-income families than from the wealthy.
"To a large degree we're all in this together," said Don Baylor, a policy analyst with the Austin-based Center for Public Policy Priorities, which advocates increased spending on social services. "We're either going to rise or fall as a state together."
The study's findings and proposals didn't sit well with Michael Quinn Sullivan, vice president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, an Austin think tank that advocates limited government and free markets.
He said income inequality studies are arbitrary analyses that don't take into consideration the "high turnover of wealth in the United States."
"Look at someone like a Bill Gates, look at Steve Jobs, look at Michael Dell," Sullivan said. "They did not come from money and they're now very, very, very, very wealthy individuals."
But James K. Galbraith, who teaches economics and government at the University of Texas at Austin, said businesses would rather have a well-trained work force than a favorable tax climate.
And educating the work force allows people to get better jobs that pay more money.
"If the gap between rich and poor gets too big, people will quit trying to move up the socio-economic ladder," said Galbraith.
AUSTIN (AP) - The income gap between rich and middle- class families is wider in Texas than in any other state, and the gap between rich and poor families is the second-widest in the nation, a study released Thursday found.
In the early 2000s, the average income of the richest 20 percent of Texas families was $118,971, almost three times the average income of the middle 20 percent of families, which was $41,015, according to the study conducted by the Washington, D.C.-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute.
The richest 20 percent of Texas families made just over eight times as much as the poorest 20 percent of families, whose average income was $14,724, the study found. Nationally, the average income of the richest families was $122,152, 2.6 times higher than the average income of families in the middle and 7.3 times higher than the average income of the poorest families.
The study, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, also found that in Texas and nationwide, the incomes of the richest families climbed substantially over the past two decades, while less wealthy families saw only modest income gains.
Elizabeth McNichol, a senior fellow with the center, said the uneven growth violates a fundamental principle of our economic system - that workers will be rewarded for helping our economy grow.
"When income growth is concentrated at the top of the income scale, the people at the bottom have a much harder time lifting themselves out of poverty and giving their children a decent start in life," she said.
The study blames a number of factors for the growth in income inequality, including long periods of high unemployment, globalization, the loss of manufacturing jobs and the expansion of low-wage service jobs.
It suggests states could narrow the gap by raising the minimum wage, offering low-wage workers support services such as transportation or child care, and increasing their reliance on income taxes rather than sales taxes, which the authors say take a larger percentage of income from low- and middle-income families than from the wealthy.
"To a large degree we're all in this together," said Don Baylor, a policy analyst with the Austin-based Center for Public Policy Priorities, which advocates increased spending on social services. "We're either going to rise or fall as a state together."
The study's findings and proposals didn't sit well with Michael Quinn Sullivan, vice president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, an Austin think tank that advocates limited government and free markets.
He said income inequality studies are arbitrary analyses that don't take into consideration the "high turnover of wealth in the United States."
"Look at someone like a Bill Gates, look at Steve Jobs, look at Michael Dell," Sullivan said. "They did not come from money and they're now very, very, very, very wealthy individuals."
But James K. Galbraith, who teaches economics and government at the University of Texas at Austin, said businesses would rather have a well-trained work force than a favorable tax climate.
And educating the work force allows people to get better jobs that pay more money.
"If the gap between rich and poor gets too big, people will quit trying to move up the socio-economic ladder," said Galbraith.
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