Pew Study Finds Income Inequality Rising

A major study by the Pew Research Center looking at "political values and core attitudes" over the past 20 years finds that working families are having a hard time making ends meet (via Working For Us PAC). From the summary:

More broadly, the poll finds that money worries are rising. More than four-in-ten (44%) say they "don't have enough money to make ends meet," up from 35% in 2002. While a majority continues to say they are "pretty well satisfied" with their personal financial situation, that number is lower than it has been in more than a decade.

The stark difference between people who can't make ends meet and people who are pretty well satisfied shows the growing income inequality in our society. More on that:

In addition, an increasing number of Americans subscribe to the sentiment "today it's really true that the rich just get richer while the poor get poorer." Currently, 73% concur with that sentiment, up from 65% five years ago. Growing concerns about income inequality are most apparent among affluent Americans; large percentages of lower-income people have long held this opinion.

This issue is playing out in the state budget fight going on in Albany. Our elected officials are fighting over essential services like schools and health care, but left out of the equation are the superrich. As long as that's the case, they are the ones who will keep winning the debate.

Read our solution.

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