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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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103089
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10308900.015
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1990-09-18
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BUSINESS, Page 75Business NotesINCOME DISTRIBUTIONTwo Worlds, Moving Apart
The seven-year U.S. economic boom has produced great rewards,
but they have not been distributed equitably. In a report issued
last week, the Census Bureau found that the gap between rich and
poor is widening. On the basis of a survey of 58,000 households,
the bureau estimated that the poorest one-fifth of U.S. families
received 4.6% of total income -- the lowest percentage since 1954.
By contrast, the wealthiest one-fifth of families accounted for 44%
of the income -- the highest share ever recorded.
The number of American families living below the poverty line,
currently an annual income of $12,091 for a family of four, fell
last year to 13.1% of the population, from 13.4% in 1987. But that
percentage is still higher than it was a decade ago, when it stood
at 11.4%. In addition, earnings for full-time male workers fell
1.3% in 1988, the first decline since 1982, while wages for female
workers were unchanged.