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See Chart Page 12 - Six categories became more equal.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/national/RussellSageIncomeSegregationreport.pdf

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bob wright said...

Talk about inflation.

My uncle told me that when he went to Central Michigan in 1953, his tuition, books and fees cost $100/semester.

While in college, he worked 40 to 50 hours per week at a Gulf station in Mount Pleasant, MI for $1/hr.

Working at a gas station, he was able to:

1. Pay for college
2. Pay his room and board
3. Have money left over to send home to his parents.

This is impossible in today's world.

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PeakTrader said...

Bob wright says: "...This is impossible in today's world."

You likely can get a better education cheaper at a community college today.

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PeakTrader said...

Affluent Americans are at least partially responsible for fueling the college boom (much of America's middle class is moving into upper classes, while poor immigrants are moving into America's lower classes):

Growth in the
Residential Segregation
of Families by Income,
1970-2009

The proportion of families living in affluent neighborhoods doubled from 7 percent in 1970 to 14 percent in 2007.

Likewise, the proportion of families in poor neighborhoods doubled from 8 percent to 17 percent over the same period.

Western Europe's class structure today is likely much like America's class structure in 1970.

The U.S. in 1970 had a large middle class with a small upper class and a small lower class.

Today, America's two highest classes: "Affluent" and "High Income" are roughly equal in size to the "Poor" and "Low Income" classes, and also equal in size to the "High Middle" and "Low Middle" classes.

i.e. all six income classes in America have become more equal in size.

I guess, you can say income equality improved in America from 1970-2007, since all six income categories became more equal

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Buddy R Pacifico said...

Peak Trader,

You seem to be writing about income classes and neighborhoods while explaining the rise of textbook costs.

Does moving to a gated community drive up the price of texts?

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PeakTrader said...

Buddy says: "Does moving to a gated community drive up the price of texts?"

The proportion of high income and highly educated Americans increased.

A student from a high income and highly educated household, and with high scores and GPAs, will tend to go to a top tier college, regardless of the cost.

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http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=28997633&postID=2425468198790160511

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PeakTrader said...

Hydra says: "We have a society in which money is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few people."

Does that mean you feel sorry for the 10,000 workers at Microsoft who became millionaires, because only a few became billionaires (a measly few million dollars is nothing compared to the $100 billion of Bill Gates, Paul Allen, and Steve Ballmer).

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PeakTrader said...

"We have a society in which money is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few people."

Without those "few people" everyone else would have even less money.

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Hydra said...

But if the money IS increasingly concentrated in their hands, everyone else will have less money anyway.

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PeakTrader said...

Hydra, are you saying eventually one person will have all the money and everyone else will have zero?

Would you rather have a million dollars if someone else has a billion dollars, or would you rather have $100,000 if someone else has a million dollars?

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PeakTrader said...

Hydra says: "Do we believe that middle class incomes have stagnated and the top 0.001 have increased 400%, or not?"

I stated before:

Much of America's middle class is moving into upper classes, while poor immigrants are moving into America's lower classes.

Growth in the
Residential Segregation
of Families by Income,
1970-2009

"The proportion of families living in affluent neighborhoods doubled from 7 percent in 1970 to 14 percent in 2007.

Likewise, the proportion of families in poor neighborhoods doubled from 8 percent to 17 percent over the same period."

My comment: The U.S. in 1970 had a large middle class with a small upper class and a small lower class.

Today, America's six income classes (Affluent, High Income, High Middle, Low Middle, Low Income, and Poor) are more equal in size.

I guess, you can say income equality improved in America from 1970-2007, since all six income categories became more equal

It's remarkable, in the U.S., the rich category doubled, from 7% to 14%, while the poor category also doubled, from 8% to 17%, because it's much easier to be poor.

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http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=28997633&postID=7952291003595338104