Wealth and poverty

Education

Income

Wealth

Intersectionality class, race, gender, geography, age…..

Wage inequality

…..has been increasing, in part, because of the declining real value of the minimum wage.

For minimum wage workers“working poor”

The value of the minimum wage has not kept up with inflation. When adjusted for inflation, the value of the minimum wage is 21% lower than it was in 1979.

http://www.osjspm.org/101_wages.htm#1

Real Value of Minimum Wage (2000 dollars)

Incomes of the Wealthiest

According to Business Week, the average CEO made

42 times the average hourly worker's pay in 1980,

85 times the average worker in 1990 and 411 times the average workers in 2001.

Top 20% earn half the income of the United

States

Wealth Says even more

Top 1 percent own 42% of wealth About $ 6 trillion

(90% of Americans combined own $5 trillion)

Investment incomes are not taxed at the same rate as incomes…. And many of our

nation’s wealthiest earn their keep via investment incomes…….

10 Richest Americans, 2003

NameNet Worth($ billion)

Source

1 Bill Gates 46 Microsoft Corp.

2 Warren Buffet 36 Berkshire Hathaway

3 Paul Allen 22 Microsoft Corp.

4 Helen Walton 20.5 Wal-Mart stores (inheritance)

5 John Walton 20.5 Wal-Mart stores (inheritance)

10 Richest Americans, 2003

NameNet Worth($ billion)

Source

6 Alice Walton 20.5Wal-Mart stores

(inheritance)

7S. Robson

Walton 20.5 Wal-Mart stores

8 Jim Walton 20.5 Wal-Mart stores

(inheritance)

9Lawrence

Ellison 18 Oracle Corp.

10 Michael Dell 13 Dell Computer Corp.

In other words…..

Top 10% own 72 percent of the wealth

Control over 80% of Corporations

Bottom 90% own 28 percent

Control less than 20 percent of Corporations

Wealth Income

and Corporate Control

Equals

Power