Wealth, Income, and Power [in America]

Wealth, Income, and Power

by G. William Domhoff

Sociology Professor at the University of California at Santa Cruz

September 2005 (updated July 2011)

A fantastic read and lots of other great information if you dare to know...

This document presents details on the wealth and income distributions in the United States, and explains how we use these two distributions as power indicators.

Some of the information may come as a surprise to many people. In fact, I know it will be a surprise and then some, because of a recent study (Norton & Ariely, 2010) showing that most Americans (high income or low income, female or male, young or old, Republican or Democrat) have no idea just how concentrated the wealth distribution actually is. More on that a bit later.

As far as the income distribution, the most amazing numbers on income inequality will come last, showing the dramatic change in the ratio of the average CEO's paycheck to that of the average factory worker over the past 40 years.

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