U.S. Wage Gap Widens
Inequality between the rich and middle/lower income families continues to widen, according to a recent Economic Policy Institute and Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report, which shows the incomes of the wealthy have skyrocketed over the past 20 years, while the rest of working America has seen only modest gains.

A major factor in the inequality is the declining real value of the minimum wage. Minimum wage workers earned only 32% of the average hourly wage in 2005, according to the report.

The average hourly wage was $16.41 in January 2006. In order to reach 50% of the average wage, which was the level experienced in the 1950s and 1960s, the minimum wage would need to be raised from $5.15 to $8.20. Raising the minimum wage would improve purchasing power for lower income families and help curb the growing income inequality within the United States.