Most Americans get what money they have from their work;that is ,they earn an income from wages or salaries.The richest Americans,however,get most of their money from what they own—their stocks,bonds,real estate,and other forms of property,or wealth.Although there are few accurate statistics to go by,wealth in American society appears to be concentrated in very few hands.More than 20 percent of everything that can be privately owned is held by less than one percent of the adult population and more than 75 percent of all wealth is owned by 20 percent of American adults.The plain fact is that most Americans have no wealth at all aside from their homes,automobiles,and a small amount of savings.
Income in the United States is not as highly concentrated as wealth.In 1917 the richest 10 percent of American families received 26 percent of all income,while the poorest 10 percent received 17 percent,mainly from Social Security and other government payments.The most striking aspect of income distribution is that it has not changed significantly since the end of World War Ⅱ.Although economic growth has roughly doubled real disposable(可自由使用的)family income(the money left after taxes and adjusted for inflation)over the last generation,the size of the shares given to the rich and the poor is about the same.By any measure economic inequality is great in the United States.
The reality behind these statistics is that a large number of Americans are poor.In 1918,14 percent of the population was living below the federal government's poverty line,which at that time was an annual income of $9,287 for a nonfarm family of two adults and two children.In other words,about one out of seven Americans over 31 million people was officially considered unable to buy the basic necessities of food,clothes,and shelter.The suggested poverty line in 1981 would have been an income of about $11,200 for a family of four.By this relative definition,about 20 percent of the population or more than 45 million Americans are poor.
【安徽省铜陵市铜都双语学校2016届高考英语一轮复习学案:82】相关文章:
★ 【北师大版】2014届高考英语一轮复习指导课时作业:Unit 3 A卷 Word版含解析
★ 【北京专用】2014届高考英语一轮复习方案课时作业:选修7 Unit 3 Under the sea
★ 贵州省贵阳市2014高考英语(新人教版)一轮阅读训练(23)附答案
★ 浙江省湖州市2014高考英语阅读理解一轮(暑假)精炼(17)含答案
★ 贵州省贵阳市2014高考英语(新人教版)一轮阅读训练(8)附答案
★ 四川省2016届高考英语一轮复习课时作业(44) Module 2 The Renaissance 外研版选修8
最新
2017-04-24
2017-04-24
2017-04-24
2017-04-24
2017-04-21
2017-04-21