Income Gap Widens

According to the Census Bureau, the "income gap" between rich and poor has "increased" over the past decades. The "wealthiest 20 percent of households in 1973 accounted for 44 percent of total U.S. income. ... Their share jumped to 50 percent in 2002, while everyone else's fell. For the bottom fifth, the share dropped from 4.2 percent to 3.5 percent" (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 8/17).