> Despite this good news, income inequality was unchanged,
> and remains at its highest level since the Census began
> tracking these data in 1947. In fact, family income inequality has
> not declined at all over the 1993-98 period. With the economy
> currently performing very well by most indicators, this is a worrisome
> outcome, suggesting that inequality is highly intractable and that
> more will have to be done to address it.
It's going to be interesting to see the results of the Fed's 1998 Survey of Consumer Finances, which should start trickling out late this year or early next. The Census Bureau's income data essentially misses the top 1-2% of the population. The Fed's SCF really scrutinizes them. It seems reasonable to guess that there's been considerable income and wealth growth at the upper reaches, suggesting the inequality picture may not be as flat as the Census figures say.
Doug