Income inequality in America is at its highest level in more than 50 years even as the U.S. economy continues to grow, albeit it at a moderate rate, according to new Census data released Thursday.
The separation between the rich and poor between 2017 and 2018 is greater than ever, with nine states seeing spikes in the divide, including California, Alabama, Arkansas, New Mexico, Texas, Nebraska, Kansas and Virginia. The gulf is highest in five states: California, Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana and New York. Equality was highest in Utah, Alaska and Iowa.
The U.S. median household income from the 2018 American Community Surveys was $61,937, smaller than the previous three years.
The government uses the Ginni index to measure wealth distribution, with zero representing total equality and 1 representing total inequality. In 2018, the Ginni index rose to 0.485, up from 0.397 more than 50 years ago.
"When you have a system where inequality is rising – and where some groups are perpetually overrepresented at the bottom of the income and wealth distribution, even when they follow the standard prescription for realizing the American Dream – it's a recipe for a politically and socially divided nation," said Cornell sociology professor Kim Weeden, director of the school's Center for the Study of Inequality, told CBS News.
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