Income Inequality Gap Widens Among U.S. Communities Over 30 Years

[pampango]

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2011/03/income-inequality-gap-widens-among-us-communities-over-30-years.html

In the debate about income inequality in America, many stories miss an important point: rising disparities are not just about investment bankers versus autoworkers. They're about entire communities of "winners" and "losers." As we have noted with Patchwork Nation, as the long-term economic shifts in the United States happen, communities continue to diverge and the idea of "an American economy" increasingly looks like an anachronism.

The numbers, which appear in April's Atlantic Monthly, show that more than half of our county types, seven out of our 12, actually had a lower median family income in 2010 than they did 30 years ago. The figures, 1980 data from the Census and 2010 estimates from the firm Geolytics, were adjusted for inflation. (2010 Census data by county are not yet available.)

One way to think of the changes is this: The highest median family income in Patchwork Nation in 1980 was the Monied Burbs at $55,688, while the poorest was Minority Central at $36,869 - a difference of $18,819. In 2010, the numbers were $59,404 for the Monied Burbs and $36,130 for Minority Central - a difference of $23,274. In other words, the already-wide income gap between the wealthiest county type in Patchwork Nation and the poorest grew by more than $4,400 in the last 30 years in inflation-adjusted dollars.

One reaction to all these numbers may be, so what? The numbers here reflect what happens when an economy changes and global competition rocks an economic boat that used to be steady. Maybe. But particularly in the U.S., these numbers have real significance - and not just from the standpoint of equality and fairness.

First, increasingly the weight of the economy is being placed on a few types of places -- for the most part, places that are better educated and wealthier. The buying power of other communities is not only struggling to keep up, it is falling behind. Is that best for a consumer economy? And second, what happens if the American socioeconomic system, essentially, functions on two tracks? Will the people living places on the lower tracks stand for that and for how long?

[Hannah Bell]

1. kr

[leftstreet]

2. K&R