Many around the world were pessimistic about inequality even before pandemic
Across 34 countries, a median of 65% said in 2019 they felt pessimistic about reducing the gap between the rich and poor in their country.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Across 34 countries, a median of 65% said in 2019 they felt pessimistic about reducing the gap between the rich and poor in their country.
Despite some ups and downs over the past several decades, today’s real average wage in the U.S. has about the same purchasing power it did 40 years ago. And most of what wage gains there have been have flowed to the highest-paid tier of workers.
In the U.S., the racial and ethnic wealth gap has evolved differently for families at different income levels since the Great Recession.
The fortunes of the middle classes across Western Europe are moving in different directions. Some nations are experiencing both growing incomes and expanding middle classes, while other nations are witness to stagnant or declining incomes and shrinking middle classes, a new Pew Research Center analysis of 11 Western European countries has found. But in a few other countries studied, the middle-class shares are decreasing even as incomes overall are rising.
The American middle class is smaller than middle classes across Western Europe, but its income is higher.
The share of Americans who live in middle-income households has held steady since 2010 – a flat trend that might actually be good news.
Growing economic inequality, increasing joblessness, global pollution and severe weather events are among the world’s most pressing threats experts say.
People in emerging and developing nations are optimistic about the financial future of their children. It’s a different story in richer nations, where most believe prospects for the next generation are grim.
The median wealth of white households was 13 times the wealth of black households and 10 times that of Hispanic households in 2013, compared with eight and nine times, respectively, in 2010.
Two-thirds of Americans say the gap between the rich and everyone else has increased, but when asked why they cite dozens of different reasons.
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