On the recordDecember 10, 2010
I commend to my colleagues this report entitled ``Income Inequality and the Great Recession'' from Senator Schumer and the Joint Economic Committee. This week, the U.S. Census Bureau will release new statistics on income inequality in the United States, allowing for an assessment of the impact of the Great Recession on our nation's income distribution. In preparation for that data release, the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) analyzed income inequality in the United States in the years preceding the Great Recession, and found: Income inequality has skyrocketed. Economists concur that income inequality has risen dramatically over the past three decades. Middle-class incomes stagnated under President Bush. During the recovery of the 1990s under President Clinton, middle-class incomes grew at a healthy pace. However, during the jobless recovery of the 2000s under President Bush, that trend reversed course. The first year of the Great Recession dealt a sharp blow to middle-class families, who had not yet recovered from the pain of the last recession. High levels of income inequality may precipitate economic crises.
