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The article discusses who in American qualify as the top one percent of the wealthiest Americans in 2012. Information is provided on the profile of the top wealthy who often work in finance, make half of their annual income from interest, dividends, and capital gains, and often have wealthy parents. It is noted that the wealthiest Americans are more likely to be married and have children than middle class or poor Americans.

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.

Examines key economic principles and policies that widen the gap between the rich and the poor in terms of wealth distribution and economic status in the U.S. Emphasis on the role of the government on spending and financial allocations; Focus on the economic policy and practice in the U.S.; Policies relating to social security, taxation, income and budget allocation; Proposals to improve living conditions for the rich, middle and the poor through faster economic growth.

It was not a surprise, since the idea of children's trust funds, or "baby bonds," was included in Labour's manifesto. But British Finance Minister Gordon Brown's announcement in the budget that the government would put money into a savings account for children at birth is nonetheless a welcome and intriguing idea--and one that has support from both left and right. Most children will get £250 at birth, though poorer families (a third of the total, says the government) will receive £500 and their families will also qualify for full child tax credit. Like many original ideas in political economy, this one was born in America. The debate was started in 1999 by two American academics, Bruce Ackerman and Anne Alstott, in their book "The Stakeholder Society." Growing wealth inequality, they said, meant that few in America had a fair crack at life. In Britain the idea has been pushed hard by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), a left-leaning think-tank.

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.

Presents information on the number of poor people in the United States for October of 1998. Reduction in the number below the poverty line; No year-to-year change in overall income inequality; Fewer blacks and Hispanics among the nation's poor; Comments from Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation on the state of the US poor.