Economic Apartheid Data Center Check here for updates and corrections to the text, charts and graphs in UFE's book Economic Apartheid in America. |  |
Date | Page | Text, Chart or Graph | Change |
12/5/02 | 18 | Updated to 2000 | |
12/5/02 | 20 | Updated to 2001 | |
12/5/02 | 21 | Updated to 2002 | |
12/5/02 | 22 | Updated to 2000 | |
10/12/00 | 39 | Error corrected | |
12/5/02 | 41 | Updated to 2001 | |
12/5/02 | 42 | Updated to 2001 | |
10/23/00 | 44 | Error in income ranges corrected | |
12/5/02 | 45 | Updated to 2001 | |
12/5/02 | 50 | Updated to 2001 | |
12/5/02 | 51 | Updated to 2001 | |
10/25/00 | 52 | New data source for 1962 | |
6/30/00 | 53 | Updated to 1998 | |
2/19/01 | 54 | 1976 figures updated and corrected | |
2/19/01 | 55 | 1976 figures corrected 1998 figures revised | |
6/30/00 | 56 | Updated to 1998 | |
2/19/01 | 57 | 1976 figures corrected Updated to 1998 | |
12/5/02 | 58 | Updated to 1998 | |
2/18/04 | 75 | Updated to 2001 | |
2/10/04 | 77 | Updated to 2002 | |
12/5/02 | 82 | Updated to 2001 | |
12/5/02 | 115 | Updated to 2002 |
Page 18 • Updated 12/4/02
Percentage of Employees with Employer-Provided Insurance Coverage, 1979-2000
1979 | 1989 | 1995 | 2000 | |
Top 20% | 88% | 84% | 79% | 81% |
Middle 20% | 76% | 69% | 64% | 68% |
Bottom 20% | 41% | 29% | 28% | 33% |
Source: Mishel, Bernstein, and Boushey, The State of Working America 2002-03 (Cornell University Press: 2002), p. 142.
Page 20 • Updated 12/5/02
U.S. Savings Rate, 1999 - 2001
1999 | 2000 | 2001 |
2.6% | 2.8% | 2.3% |
Source: "Personal Saving as a Percentage of Disposable Personal Income," Bureau of Economic Analysis, National Accounts Data.
Page 21• Updated 12/5/02
Total Annual Personal Bankruptcy Filings, 2000 - 2002
(for 12 months ended June 30 of that year)
2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
1,240,012 | 1,349,471 | 1,466,105 |
Source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
Page 22 • Updated 12/4/02
Percentage of Employees with Employer-Provided Pension Coverage, 1979-2000
1979 | 1989 | 1995 | 2000 | |
Top 20% | 77% | 70% | 72% | 73% |
Middle 20% | 53% | 46% | 48% | 54% |
Bottom 20% | 20% | 14% | 14% | 18% |
Source: Mishel, Bernstein, and Boushey, The State of Working America 2002-03 (Cornell University Press: 2002), p. 143.
Page 39 • Corrected 10/12/00
The Inequality of Income and Wages
Due to an editing error, the figures listed in the second bullet point are incorrect.
The second bullet point reads:
Today, the top 1 percent of income earners, 2.7 million people receive 50.4 percent of the national income, more than the poorest 100 million people.
The second bullet point should read:
Today, the top 1 percent of income earners, 2.7 million people, receive 12.9 percent of national income, as much as the poorest 100 million people. (The top 20 percent of households receive 50.4% of national income.)
In addition, the source for this statistic should be: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, The Widening Income Gulf, Sept. 4, 1999.
Page 41 • Updated 12/5/02
Income Shares in the U.S., 2001
The data on page 41 have not been updated by the Congressional Budget Office. However, they are comparable to the shares of household income as measured by the Census Bureau in 2001:
Bottom 20% | Second 20% | Middle 20% | Fourth 20% | Top 20% | Top 5% |
3.5% | 8.7% | 14.6% | 23% | 50% | 22% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Table H-2
Page 42 • Updated 12/5/02
1979 to 2001 – Real Family Income Growth by Quintile and for Top 5%
Updated data for the top 1% is not available.
Bottom 20% | Second 20% | Middle 20% | Fourth 20% | Top 20% | Top 5% |
up to $24,000 | $24,000 - $41,127 | $41,127 - $62,500 | $62,500 - $94,150 | $94,150 and up | $164,104 and up |
+3% | +11% | +17% | +26% | +53% | +81% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, March 2001 Current Population Survey, Tables F-1 and F-3. Income ranges in 2001 dollars.
Page 44 • Corrected 10/23/00
1947 to 1979 — Real Family Income Growth by Quintile and for Top 5%
The income ranges for this chart were taken from Census data for Households. They should have been taken from Census data for Families. The correct ranges for Families in 1979 are:
Bottom 20% | Second 20% | Middle 20% | Fourth 20% | Top 20% | Top 5% |
up to $9,861 | $9,862-$16,215 | $16,216- $22,972 | $22,973-$31,632 | $31,633 and up | $50,746 and up |
Page 45 • Updated 12/5/02
1979 to 2001 — Real Income Growth Among Black Families
by Quintile and for Top 5%
Bottom 20% | Second 20% | Middle 20% | Fourth 20% | Top 20% | Top 5% |
up to $14,256 | $14,256-26,350 | $26,350- $42,400 | $42,400-$67,523 | $67,523 and up | $110,977 and up |
+1% | +27% | +29% | +29% | +43% | +61% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, March Current Population Survey, Tables F1B and F3B. Income ranges in 2001 dollars.
Page 50 • Updated 12/5/02
The Growing CEO-Worker Pay Gap:
CEO Pay as a Multiple of Average Worker Pay
1980 | 1990 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 |
42 | 85 | 141 | 209 | 326 | 419 | 475 | 531 | 411 |
Source: Business Week, annual executive pay surveys.
CEO Pay as a Multiple of Average Factory Worker Pay
2001 Pay | Multiple of Average Factory Worker Pay | |
U.S. Worker | $26,764 | 1 |
U.S. CEO | $11 million | 411 |
Source: "Executive Pay," Business Week, May 6, 2001
Page 52 • New Source Reported 10/25/00
Percentage of Households with Zero or Negative Net Worth
The fourth sentence of the fourth paragraph on this page reads, "The percentage of households with zero or negative net worth doubled in the last thirty years, increasing from 9.2 percent in 1962 to 18.5% in 1995." The source for the 1962 figure is given as Ferdinand Lundberg, The Rich and the Superrich (New York: Lyle Stuart, 1968), citing Federal Reserve, "Survey of Financial Characteristics of Consumers," 1962.
However, in September 2000, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) released data for 1962 collected by Edward N. Wolff which differs markedly from the Lundberg figure. According to Wolff / EPI, in 1962, 23.6% of households had zero or negative net worth. This would indicate that the percentage of households with zero or negative net worth actually declined between 1962 and 1995.
Source: Mishel, Bernstein, and Schmitt, The State of Working America 2000-01 (Cornell University Press, 2000) citing unpublished analysis of Survey of Consumer Finance data by Edward N. Wolff.
For data on households with zero or negative net worth updated to 1998, see below.
Page 53 • Updated 6/30/00
In the Red: Percentage of Households with Zero or Negative
Net Worth or Financial Wealth, 1983-98
1962 | 1983 | 1989 | 1992 | 1995 | 1998 | |
Net Worth | 23.6% | 15.5% | 17.9% | 18.0% | 18.5% | 18.0% |
Financial Wealth | NA | 25.7% | 26.8% | 28.2% | 28.7% | 25.7% |
Source: Mishel, Bernstein, and Schmitt, The State of Working America 2000-01 (Cornell University Press, 2000) citing unpublished analysis of Survey of Consumer Finance data by Edward N. Wolff. Also see Edward N. Wolff, "Recent Trends in Wealth Ownership, 1983-98." (Jerome Levy Economics Institute, April 2000).
The Concentration of Wealth
The first sentence of the second paragraph reads,
In 1976, the wealthiest one percent of the population owned just under 20 percent of all the private wealth.
This statistic has been recently updated. According to the latest figures from Prof. Edward Wolff of New York University, the top 1 percent of the population owned 21.8% of all private wealth in 1976.
The second sentence of the second paragraph reads,
[In 1976,] the top 10 percent of the population owned about 50 percent of all private wealth.
This statistic was erroneously reported. According to the latest figures from Prof. Edward Wolff of New York University, the top 10 percent of the population owned 65.4% of all private wealth in 1976.
Page 55 • 1976 Error Corrected 2/19/01, 1998 Figures Revised 6/30/00
Ten Musical Chairs: U.S. Private Wealth In Perspective
1976 | Top 1% owns 21.8% of all wealth |
Top 10% owns 65.4% of all wealth | |
Bottom 90% owns 34.6% of all wealth | |
1998 | Top 1% owns 38.1% of all wealth |
Top 10% owns 71% of all wealth | |
Bottom 90% owns 29% of all wealth |
Source: 1976: Edward N. Wolff, New York University. 1998: Edward N. Wolff, "Recent Trends in Wealth Ownership, 1983-98." Jerome Levy Economics Institute, April 2000.
Wealth Concentration, Back to the Future:
Top 1% Share of Total Household Wealth, 1922-98
1922 | 36.7% |
1929 | 44.2% |
1933 | 33.3% |
1939 | 36.4% |
1945 | 29.8% |
1949 | 27.1% |
1953 | 31.2% |
1962 | 31.8% |
1965 | 34.4% |
1969 | 31.1% |
1972 | 29.1% |
1976 | 19.9% |
1979 | 20.5% |
1981 | 24.8% |
1983 | 30.9% |
1986 | 31.9% |
1989 | 35.7% |
1992 | 37.2% |
1995 | 38.5% |
1998 | 38.1% |
Source: 1922-89: Edward N. Wolff, Top Heavy (New Press: 1996). 1992-98: Edward N. Wolff, "Recent Trends in Wealth Ownership, 1983-98." Jerome Levy Economics Institute, April 2000.
Ownership of Household Wealth in the United States, 1976 and 1998
1976 | Top 1% | 21.8% |
Next 9% | 43.6% | |
Bottom 90% | 34.6% | |
1998 | Top 1% | 38.1% |
Next 9% | 32.8% | |
Bottom 90% | 29.1% |
Source: 1976: Edward N. Wolff. 1998: Edward N. Wolff, "Recent Trends in Wealth Ownership, 1983-98." Jerome Levy Economics Institute, April 2000.
Who Benefited from the Stock Market Boom?
Distribution of Household Stock Market Gains, 1989-98, by Wealth Class
Top 1% | 34.8% |
Next 9% | 37.7% |
Next 10 % | 14.0% |
Bottom 80% | 13.6% |
Source: Mishel, Bernstein, and Boushey, The State of Working America 2002-03 (Cornell University Press: 2002), p. 291.
Transnational Corporations: Large, and Getting Larger
Of the world's 100 largest economies in 2001, 47 are nations, and 53 are corporations.
Source: Institute for Policy Studies, 2004.
The Republic of Wal-Mart?
With $245 billion in 2002 sales, Wal-Mart is the 19th largest economy in the world. It is larger than the economies of 190 countries, including Sweden ($230 billion), Austria ($203 billion), and Norway ($189 billion).
Source: Hoover's online (we used FY 2003 data because the fiscal year ends in January.) World Bank Development Indicators (PDF file)
Percentage of the Workforce Represented by a Labor Union, 1930-2001
2000: 13.5%
2001: 13.5%
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
The Minimum Wage and the Living Wage, 1968-2002
In 2002, the living wage was $8.70 an hour, and the minimum wage was $5.15 an hour. The minimum wage was 59% of the living wage.
Source: Living wage determined by dividing $18,100 (HHS poverty level for family of four) by 2080 hours (52 weeks X 40 hours).
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