Wealth: Top Earners Doubled Share of Nation's Income, Study Finds

From an article Martha contributed ...

... the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday, ...

that from 1979 to 2007, average inflation-adjusted after-tax income grew by 275% for the 1% of the population with the highest income. For others in the top 20% of the population, average real after-tax household income grew by 65%.

By contrast, the budget office said, for the poorest fifth of the population, average real after-tax household income rose 18%.

And for the three-fifths of people in the middle of the income scale, the growth in such household income was just under 40%.

The findings, based on a rigorous analysis of data from the Internal Revenue Service and the Census Bureau, are generally consistent with studies by some private researchers and academic economists. But because they carry the imprimatur of the nonpartisan budget office, they are likely to have a major impact on the debate in Congress over the fairness of federal tax and spending policies.

For more, see Top Earners Doubled Share of Nation's Income, Study Finds by Robert Pear, October 25, 2011 at NYTimes.com.