WEALTH GAP
In Focus
"See more clearly when you are informed"
The Wealth Gap is the a measurement that compares ing the net worth of the richest to the poorest; reveals financial disparities between the two groups. Below you will find key terms, statistics, and other useful tools to understand and talk about the Wealth Gap. If you would like to know more, consider coming to an IYC event. Our next one can be found below in the section labeled Our Events. We host them virtually, on a wide range of topics, discussing policy, civics, and current events.
Key Terms You Should Know
Financial Solvency:
The ability for a person or business to meet its financial obligations (current and future) to allow it to be financially stable.
The “1%” and The “99%”:
Represents a disparity in wealth wherein the 1% refers to the wealthiest people in the population who maintain the highest share of concentrated assets whereas the 99% refers to the rest of the population who disproportionately hold a significantly smaller share.
Generational Wealth:
broadly defined as assets, knowledge, and resources passed down within a family generation to generation; examples include an inheritance, real estate, networks, family businesses, access to better schools, and training about economics and wealth related topics.
Term 4:
Definition 4
Cycle of Poverty:
poverty passed from one generation to the next so that families continue to have limited financial resources, training, and opportunities making poverty difficult to escape.
Moments In History
1760-1850 - Industrial Revolution involves economic, social, & technological change wherein society shifted from being agrarian-based; downside included monopolies, child labor, & robber barons
1981 - The Economic Recovery Act (aka Reaganomics) introduces a version of the Trickle Down Economics theory introduced by Herbert Hoover in 1932
2020-2022 - The COVID pandemic increases debt globally and exposes and deepens the wealth gap
1950s - Some popular television shows of this period represent idyllic life such as Leave it to Beaver
2007-2009 - The Great Recession (a term invoking fears related to the Great Depression) triggers a decline in the wealth of American families and deepens the racial wealth gap
Statistics
$66,000 is the estimated cost of reparations per each Black American alive is $66,000, today according to the Tax Policy Center
$1.35 vs. $1 The Wealth Gap between Millennials & Gen Zers wealth vs. Baby Boomers at the same age is $1.35 vs. $1
46 is The U.S. Gini Coefficient, a measure of income inequality, is relatively high compared to many other developed countries
The federal minimum wage is $7.25/hr
However, states may have a higher minimum wage such as NY, $16.50/hr as of 1/1/25
56% of US employers offered college tuition assistance for their employees; Households headed by someone w/ a high school diploma had .22 for every $1 of wealth held by households headed by a four-year college graduate
Values
Insurance
Power
Luxury vs. Necessity
Autonomy
Security
Notable Names
Mabel B. Little
Wendy Edelberg
Selena Gomez
Daniella Pierson
Donald Trump
Symbols
Our Events
Past
Future
Further Resources
Wealth Gap Infographic
Share what you have learned about Wealth Gap. Our Infographic has been designed to be shared easily by printing, emailing, or posting on social media. Click on the image to view or download the PDF File. (Not for commercial use.)
Know-It-All Event Video
Our speaker event was insightful and fun! The interesting anecdotes from Jessica Mayer, Karthi Veeramani, Sanae Elmoudden, and Edy Penn were invaluable and truly entertaining. Watch the video to further understand the need to prioritize DEI and embrace a more inclusive lifestyle. You can also make an event out of it yourself by hosting your own Know-It-All Watch: DEI discussion party. Feel free to share this video with others! (Not for commercial use.)
Know-It-All Event Video
Our speaker event was insightful and fun! The interesting anecdotes from Jessica Mayer, Karthi Veeramani, and Sanae Elmoudden were invaluable and truly entertaining. Watch the video to further understand the need to prioritize DEI and embrace a more inclusive lifestyle. You can also make an event out of it yourself by hosting your own Know-It-All Watch: DEI discussion party. Feel free to share this video with others! (Not for commercial use.)
Take Action
Share our Infographic
The next time you attend a Roaring Twenties party or dress up as a flapper for Halloween do your research on the 1920s and the wealth distribution statistics of the era
Take the time and effort to talk to people about their strategies to make ends meet including revenue streams, multiple income sources, dual income households, gig work, delivery driving (uber/lyft, grubhub/seamless, amazon), and other side hustles
Read the Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck inspired by the Dust Bowl & the Great Depression
Watch movies about economic disparities and financial hardship such as Trading Places
or The Men Who Built America and plays on the same theme such as Mame the musical