Are the Rich Getting Richer at the Expense of the Poor?

Whether the rich are becoming richer and the poor even poorer depends on the observer. And what the left-slanted media suggests.

Example a November 13, 2007 report from the Treasury Department, entitled "Income Mobility in the United States from 1996 to 2005.” These are not the only data that tell a diametrically opposite slant from the usual political and media story that the rich are getting richer and the poor are poorer. A previous Treasury Department study showed similar patterns in individual income changes between 1979 and 1988.

Studies of same individuals show patterns different than the patterns the Left always suggest.

Similarly, a study conducted at the University of Michigan, following the same individuals over an even longer span of time, found most people move from one income bracket to another over time, especially among those who began in the bottom 20%.

The University of Michigan Panel Survey on Income Dynamics showed that, among people who were in the bottom 20% income bracket in 1975, only 5% were still in that category in 1991. Nearly six times as many of them were now in the top 20% in 1991.

The Left sneers at income mobility as a myth. But the facts speak for themselves.