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University of Wisconsin–Madison
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty

Tag: Income inequality

US Income Gap

A bigger economic pie, but a smaller slice for half of the U.S., By Patricia Cohen, December 6, 2016, New York Times: “Even with all the setbacks from recessions, burst bubbles and vanishing industries, the United States has still pumped out breathtaking riches over the last three and half decades.  The real economy more than doubled in size; the government now uses a substantial share of that bounty to hand over as much as $5 trillion to help working families, older people, disabled and unemployed people pay for a home, visit a doctor and put their children through school.  Yet for half of all Americans, their share of the total economic pie has shrunk significantly, new research has found…”

Income Inequality – Boston, MA

Half of city residents make less than $35,000 a year, study says, By Katie Johnson, March 15, 2016, Boston Globe: “Boston is a city of haves and have-nots, and a new study by the Boston Redevelopment Authority quantifies the growing divide, portraying the trend in stark numbers that show few benefits from the economic boom going to those near the bottom of the income scale.  Despite much attention given to high-paying jobs in technology, biotechnology, and finance, nearly half of Boston residents make less than $35,000 a year, the study shows. Incomes, when adjusted for inflation, have not risen for such workers for three decades…”