You may have heard that the U.S. is in a “K-shaped economy”. What does this mean?
Jerome Katz, a professor in the Chaifetz School of Business at St. Louis University, told KMOX Radio this means the wealth divide continues to grow. He describes it as the most wealthy Americans are riding the escalator up and the rest are riding the escalator down.
Katz said the rich have gotten richer compared to the gilded age of the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts.
“The top 1% of Americans, in 1900, controlled somewhere between 30% and 40% of the total wealth. These days, the top 1% of Americans control between 35% and 42% of total wealth,” said Katz, KMOX Radio’s business analyst.
He said it’s getting harder for the middle class to gain wealth and poorer Americans are having a more difficult time digging out of debt.
Only 2.5% of the nation’s wealth is held by the bottom 50% of Americans.
By Megan Lynch of KMOX Radio