INEQUALITY: A TREND ANALYSIS

In: The annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Volume 385, p. 110-117

Abstract

The attempt to grapple with poverty during the 1960's led to renewed recognition of the importance of inequality in affluent societies. This paper summarizes trends in the share of nat'l income going to the bottom fifth of the pop, ranked according to income, & in the composition of that bottom fifth over the last 20 yrs. Between 1947 & 1967, despite the decline in the share of total nat'l income going to the top 5%, little progress was made in increasing the share of the bottom 20%. A specific timetable of income-redistribution is needed for the 1970's so that we can assess our programs in increasing the share of nat'l goods going to the poor & to minorities. Over the next 10 yrs, we should seek to expand the share of income going to fam's in the bottom 20% of the pop by at least 2 to 3% - from 5.4% in 1967 to 7 or 8% in 1977. In the mid-1960's considerable progress was made in reducing inequality between blacks & whites: the ratio of nonwhite to white income increased from 53% in 1963 to 62% in 1967 - an increase of approximately 2.25% a yr. This gain should continue, so that by 1979, a black income would be at least 89% of white income. Modified HA.