Rich-Poor Gap Widens in Europe and North America

The gap between the rich and the poor is widening according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which spans 20 years and 30 countries. Here are the facts:

• The U.S. has the greatest inequality in the OECD after Mexico and Turkey -- and the gap has grown rapidly since 2000. The richest 10 percent of Americans earn an average of $93,000 (highest in the OECD) - whereas the poorest 10 percent of Americans earn an average of $5,800 (about 20 percent lower than the OECD average).
• Since 2000, income inequality has grown fastest in Germany, although Germany's gap remains below the OECD average.
• British inequalities have been falling since 2000, but the rich-poor gap there is still wider than in three-fourths of OECD countries.
• The rise in inequality is generally due to the rich improving their incomes relative both to low- and middle-income people.
• Older people are much less likely to be poor than in the past. Poverty has shifted from pensioners to young adults and families with children.

So not only is the gap between the rich and poor growing, but the middle class is now stagnating. And yet people are complaining about Obama wanting to spread the wealth. This is not socialism, it is called a GOOD IDEA. America is supposed to be a country based on the availability to freely move between social classes. The American Dream will die with a McCain/Palin victory.