Wealth Inequality

A new report shows the wealthiest 10% of Americans are keeping the U.S. economy going right now, accounting for nearly half of all consumer spending. Meanwhile, working- and middle-class Americans have had to cut down on spending.

The wealthiest 10% make $250,000 or more each year.

Federal Reserve data shows credit card delinquency among non-wealthy Americans is the highest it’s been since 2011.

 The sight of celebrity mansions and movie landmarks reduced to ashes can make it seem like the wildfires roaring through the Los Angeles area affected a constellation of movie stars.

But a drive through the charred neighborhoods around Altadena shows that the fires also burned through a remarkable haven for generations of Black families avoiding discriminatory housing practices elsewhere. They have been communities of racial and economic diversity, where many people own their own homes.

In a November 10 appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, United States Senator for Vermont Bernie Sanders dismissed a question from host Dana Bash about whether Democrats’ poor showing in the 2024 election came down to messaging over policy.

“It’s not messaging, Dana,” Sanders said. He said the economy has been weak for average Americans for decades.

It’s a trend that has surprised many: Why, despite being squeezed by high prices, have Americans kept spending at retail stores and restaurants at a robust pace?

One key reason is a relatively simple one: Wealthier consumers, boosted by strong gains in income, home equity and stock market wealth, have increasingly driven the spending.

Swiping dating app profiles goes beyond figuring out who gives you the ick — it may also encourage wealth disparity.

Nearly 60 million Americans report using dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge, where you can filter by age, career, education, and other marketable traits.

But using the apps to find the ‘one’ means you could be contributing to income inequality, according to research from the Federal Reserve Banks of St. Louis and Dallas and Haverford College.

Online dating may be partially to blame for an increase in income inequality in the US in recent decades, according to a research paper.

Since the emergence of dating apps that allow people to look for a partner based on criteria including education, Americans have increasingly been marrying someone more like themselves. That accounts for about half of the rise in income inequality among households between 1980 and 2020, researchers from the Federal Reserve Banks of Dallas and St. Louis and Haverford College found. 

From heartstrings to purse strings, online dating has changed the way we think about love and culture, but what if it's also changing the way we think about money?

A recent paper from researchers at the Federal Reserve Banks of Dallas and St. Louis and Haverford College found that online dating may have contributed to an uptick in income inequality in the U.S. over recent decades as an increasing number of people swipe left on potential mates who don't meet their criteria in select areas.

The 2017 tax cut law signed by President Donald Trump cut income tax rates essentially across the board.  AllSides highlights content from Gigafact, a network of newsrooms that respond to online claims. View the full fact brief on Wisconsin Watch.

President Joe Biden has sought to bolster his outreach to Black voters as polls show him with lower-than-usual support within that demographic.

In graduation remarks May 19 at Atlanta’s Morehouse College, a historically Black institution, Biden touted achievements for Black Americans that he said were reached during his presidency.

"Today, record numbers of Black Americans have jobs, health insurance, and more (wealth) than ever," Biden said.