Modern School: The Insatiable Rich

Modern School: The Insatiable Rich

The Insatiable Rich

by Michael Dunn

Some sobering facts by Hendrik Van den Berg, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, from his article “Our Growing Income Inequality (It's NOT an Accident)”

Growing Income Gap

• Forty years ago, the minimum wage provided 25% more real purchasing power than it does today. In 1968, the minimum wage was $1.60 per hour. $1.60 would buy about $9.00 worth of goods and services today. Today, a person working full time at the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour lives below the poverty line.
• For the past thirty years, virtually all income growth in the U.S. has been captured by the top 10% of income earners, while the average real income for the remaining 90% has not changed for 30 years.
• In 2009, the average non-supervisory worker earned $18.62 per hour. However, in 1972 the real purchasing power of the average real non-supervisory wage was the equivalent