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The article reports that household incomes are growing again in the U.S. after a lengthy period of stagnation. It mentions that the low-income Americans appear to have fared the best in the upside-down post-pandemic period, in addition, shifts in taxation have failed to keep up with the explosive growth in incomes for America's wealthiest.

The article explores the transfer of the concentration of poor people in the suburbs in the U.S. It attributes the changing geography of poverty to the declining median household income and the mismanagement of city finances. The effect of increasing housing costs and income inequality on the condition of poor people is discussed, as well as the rising number of poor children in cities across the country.

The article discusses the method employed by the U.S. federal government in measuring poverty. It identifies the problems present by the country's antiquated poverty line, including the calculation of income before taxes and transfers. The supplemental poverty measure (SPM) is criticized for taking benefits and cost of living into account.

The article discusses the relationship between mortality rates and income in the U.S., referencing a study conducted by social scientists Janet Currie and Hannes Schwandt published in the journal "Science." The increase in life expectancy among poor people in the U.S., including the role that decreasing smoking rates plays in health improvements, is discussed. Decreases in mortality rates among middle-aged white Americans are also discussed.

The article discusses reports that the average American income has risen slightly while poverty rates have slightly fallen. The number of Americans without health insurance, however, has continued to increase. These figures are questioned, as the author points out that poverty censuses do not take into account government health insurance, subsidized housing, or food stamps.

This article considers what widening inequalities in incomes and wealth reveal about the United States, and considers the chances that this issue will become a factor in the 2004 presidential race. Does America really have an inequality problem? Statistically, the answer is "Yes, but". Much the same applies to the question of whether the Democrats can turn this into a winning political issue. By whatever measure you use, the richest Americans have done very well over the past few decades. Take wealth rather than income, and America's disparity is even more startling. The wage incomes of the bottom 20% of households have barely grown in real terms since the mid-1970s. As for wealth, the bottom fifth has debts that exceed its assets, making its wealth a negative number. The bottom fifth's percentage of national wealth worsened from -0.3% in 1983 to -0.6% in 1998. These depressing statistics, though, come with two caveats. First, poorer Americans are better off than they once were. Second, America is a remarkably mobile society. As this year's Economic Report of the President points out, 50-80% of the unfortunates in America's bottom quintile push themselves into a higher quintile after 10 years. Most Americans seem to understand that inequality is not just to do with tax cuts for the rich.

Reports the results of a study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities that examined the income disparities between the rich and the poor. Changes in the disparities, including a growth in the amount of wealth inherited by the top one percent of the population; Statistics from the study; Possible causes of the changes in disparities.