“Since 1975, practically all the gains in household income have gone to the top 20% of households.”

“Long-term problems [for the U.S. economy] include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension costs of an aging population, sizable trade and budget deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower economic groups.”

“Real median earnings of both men and women who worked full-time, year-round declined between 2005 and 2006 (1.1 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively). This is the third consecutive year that men and women experienced a decline in earnings.”

These quotes may sound like propaganda to some, but the sources are pretty sound. The first two statistics are quoted verbatim from the CIA World Factbook (yes, CIA as in Central Intelligence Agency). The third is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s latest “Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage Report.” I added the italics.

I would add another statistic that is alluded to but not quite spelled out in that report: That median income, which was $48,201 in 2006, still hadn’t returned to its 1999 peak.

Plenty of people today are feeling the economic headwinds. It’s not their imagination, or necessarily their failure. More and more of the financial pie has been going to those at the top. Although pay disparity is of particular interest to women, income disparity should be of concern to everybody.

As individuals, we should do everything we can to succeed, including saving, investing and getting the best education we can for ourselves and our children. But we also should be mindful that wide income disparities are a destabilizing force in society. Real progress means gains for all groups, not just those already at the economic pinnacle.