The Money Gap

"Money tends to reproduce itself." -- Thomas Piketty (2014).

"The rich get rich and the poor get children." -- "Ain't We Got Fun?" by Richard A. Whiting / Gus Kahn / Ray Egan (1921).

   The wealth gap is widening in America. The latest figures from the U.S. Census support the theme detailed by economist Thomas Piketty that the rich are getting richer at the expense of those at the low end of the income range.
   For example, those in the wealthiest group enjoyed a net worth more than 300 times greater than some groups in a lower echelon.
   The government survey divided the wealth range of Americans into five groups (quintiles), and it showed that those in the bottom range suffered a net loss of wealth, while those in the richest group posted a 10.8 percent gain in the decade from 2000 to 2011.
   Specifically, median net worth for the wealthiest 40 percent rose, while it dropped for the bottom 60 percent, according to a Census report released today (Thursday). Here are the numbers: For households in bottom group, net worth decreased by $5,124, and increased by $61,379 for those in the top group.
   Moreover, median net worth of households in the highest quintile was almost 80 times higher than those in the second lowest group, up from 40 times greater a decade ago.
   In addition, the wealth gap widened regardless of demographic characteristics such as age, race and origin, as well as educational level, the report said. For example, the median net worth for non-Hispanic whites in the highest quintile was 21.8 times than for those in second-lowest quintile in 2000, but by 2011, this ratio jumped to 31.5 times higher. And for blacks, this ratio leaped from 140 times higher to 328 times higher.

   More details and the full report on the widening wealth gap are available at the Census Bureau's web site, www.census.gov.