#income-inequality

#income-inequality

A decade ago, low-income workers saw wages grow at the highest rate of any Americans. Now, the opposite is true, and the gap is widening between how quickly wages increase for wealthy and poorer U.S. households. In a Monday blog post titled "K-shaped economy," Apollo chief economist Torsten Slok warned the growing disparity is yet another sign of today's economy continuing to serve the rich, while poor Americans continue to struggle.

The economy is a tale of two halves at present, with wealthy consumers reporting confidence in their outlook, while those at the lower end of the income ladder reportedly feel they're living in a recession-albeit without widespread job losses. This is what economists are calling a 'K-shaped economy,' where the fortunes of two distinct sets of consumers are increasingly diverging over time.

An Oxford don in charge of mathematical finance told its reporters that almost all his students ended up working at quant trading firms, on salaries from 250,000 to 800,000. If you get offered a salary less than 250K, you're kind of the sad guy, he said, adding that nobody I know interviews for JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs not once do I hear anybody entertain any of these traditional investment banking jobs.

For high-income consumers ("the haves"): Strong spending power: Wealthy consumers are buoyed by high asset prices in stocks and real estate. The market melt-up, fueled by investments in areas like artificial intelligence, has increased their net worth. Insulation from interest rates: These individuals are less affected by higher interest rates, allowing them to continue spending on both luxury items and daily goods. Confidence in the economy: Their financial confidence remains strong, leading to continued investment and consumption.

Economists have long warned that the upward climb has slowed to a near standstill. Now the OECD has provided figures that reinforce this perception: in Spain, more than a third of income inequality is determined by factors that do not depend on the individual, but rather on imposed or inherited circumstances such as gender, the parents' place of birth, or, above all, their socioeconomic background.

Last year's presidential election underscored, particularly to Democrats, that the costs of living were a major factor in the outcome. Inflation had increased sharply during Joe Biden's presidency, and voters' angst about rising prices worked against Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign to succeed him in the White House. Not surprisingly, therefore, when the California Legislature opened its 2025 session, its dominant Democrats declared that they would focus on taming the state's notoriously high costs for housing, fuel, utilities and other necessities of modern life.

Many hundreds of people marched from the 16th St. BART Station to Dolores Park Monday at noon in a "Workers Over Billionaires" march that took aim at everything from President Donald Trump to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to Israel's actions in Gaza. Participants talked about general fear of the country's direction, the plight of immigrants and the feeling of living in troubled times.

Starbucks is the worst offender, but jaw-dropping gaps are the norm among America's leading low-wage corporations. CEOs of the 100 S&P 500 firms with the lowest median wages - a group I call the "Low-Wage 100" - have enjoyed skyrocketing pay over the past six years. As a group, these CEOs now earn 632 times more than their median employees, I found in a new report for the Institute for Policy Studies.

The analysis found that the average FTSE 100 chief executive is now paid 122 times the salary of the average full-time UK worker, reflecting a growing disparity.

"Safer today than 60 years ago? Yes, he said on Tuesday Aug. 5. Is there still racial profiling? Yes. But not to the degree it used to be."

Data indicate that eliminating racial inequities in income could boost the Bay Area economy by $348 billion a year.

The gap between the country's highest- and lowest-income households reached a record high in the first quarter of 2025, with a 49-percentage-point difference.

I happen to believe this is not like the Industrial Revolution. I think this could be a lot more severe.

Andy Mitchell CBE's pay for the year to March 2025 surged to 2.5 million, up from 1.9 million the prior year, amidst rising project costs.

Disabled people could lose more than £10,000 a year as a result of Sir Keir Starmer's benefit cuts, a group of MPs has warned.