1. The People’s Game Show $200 $400 $600 $800 $1,000 The Rich & The Poor
Taxes
Race to the Bottom
Low Wage Nation
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000

2. $200 - Race to the Bottom $200 - Race to the Bottom
How many people in the U.S. had no health care coverage in 2015?
a) 27 million
b) 8 million
c) 46 million
d) 100 million

3. $200 - Race to the Bottom Answer
(a)27 million.
Although 20 million have obtained health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), 27 million still remain uninsured.

4. $400 - Race to the Bottom $400 - Race to the Bottom
In 1973, the typical CEO of the top publicly traded companies made on average, 22 times what the typical worker made. What do you believe that number is today?
a) 110
b) 150
c) 275
d) 95

5. $400 - Race to the Bottom Answer
The average CEO pay today is 275 times greater than the average worker with an annual salary of $15.5 million dollars.

6. $600 - Race to the Bottom $600 - Race to the Bottom
How many people in the United States lived below the official poverty level in 2014?
55 million
47 million
12 million
23 million

7. $600 - Race to the Bottom Answer
(b) 47 million people
14.8 percent of the nation’s population lived below the official poverty level in 2014.

8. $800 - Race to the Bottom $800 - Race to the Bottom
In July 2016, the unemployment rate for African Americans was ____%, and for Latinos was _____%?
12.1%, 8.5%
8.4%, 5.4%
9.3%, 6.7%
7.9%, 8.2%

9. $800 - Race to the Bottom Answer
African Americans: 8.4%
Latinos: 5.4%
Whites: 4.3%

10. $1,000 - Race to the Bottom $1,000 - Race to the Bottom
In 2014, the median net worth for White families was $71,300. What was the median net worth for non-White or Hispanic* families?
a) $11,458
b) $43,300
c) $88,650
d) $102,300
*”Hispanic” and “non-White” are the terms used by the U.S. Census Bureau.

11. $1,000 - Race to the Bottom Answer

12. $200 – Taxes
$200 – Taxes
Historically, what’s the highest marginal tax rate on the top 1% in the United States?
a) 10%
b) 35%
c) 70%
d) 92%
(The top marginal income tax rate is paid on just the amount of income above the cutoff for the top bracket; it’s not the average or effective rate for one’s entire income.)

13. $200 – Taxes - Answer
(d) 92% In 1950, President Truman increased the top marginal income tax rate from 82.1% to 92.0%. In 1964 President Johnson signed the Revenue Act of 1964, reducing the top marginal income tax rate from 91% to 77%. In 2001, President Bush lowered the top marginal income rate to 39.6%.

14. $400 – Taxes
$400 - Taxes
Which country has the highest tax rate for the top income earners?
a) Portugal
b) Belgium
c) Finland

15. $400 – Taxes - Answer (a) Portugal
Portugal’s top tax rate is 61.3%; Belgium’s is 58.4%, and Finland’s is 57.5%.

16. $600 – Taxes
$600 - Taxes
In 2001, the Bush Administration and Congress enacted the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act. In 2010, as a result of this law, the average tax cut for the bottom 20% will be less than
$350. What will the average be for the top 1%?
a) Tax cut of $67,320
b) Tax cut of $92,000
c) Tax cut of $101,000

17. (b) Tax cut of $92,000 Citizens for Tax Justice.
$600 – Taxes - Answer
(b) Tax cut of $92,000 Citizens for Tax Justice.

18. $800 – Taxes
$800 - Taxes
In 2002, the richest 1% of American families paid an average of 7.9% of their income in state and local taxes. The middle 20% paid 9.8%. What percent of their income did the poorest 20% pay in state and local taxes? 0%
6.3%
c) %
d) %

19. $800 – Taxes - Answer
(c) 11.4% Sales and excise taxes and property taxes fall disproportionately on lower-income people because out of necessity they use a higher proportion of their income on local purchases and on housing. (Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States, Citizens for Tax Justice, 2002.)

20. $1,000 – Taxes
$1,000 - Taxes
In 2001, the Estate Exemption amount was $650,000 per person. In 2016, the exemption amount per person was __________?
a)  1.2 million dollars
b) 3.5 million dollars
5.4 million dollars
500,000

21. $1,000 – Taxes - Answer c) 5.4 Million Dollars
Today, 99.8 percent of estates owe no estate tax at all, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.  Only the estates of the wealthiest 0.2 percent of Americans — roughly 2 out of every 1,000 people who die — owe any estate tax.  This is because of the tax’s high exemption amount, which has jumped from $650,000 per person in 2001 to $5.45 million per person in 2016.

22. $200 – The Rich & The Poor $200 – The Rich & The Poor
From 1978 to 2014, CEO Compensation increased 997%. What was the annual compensation increase for the typical worker during the same period?
a) 20.7 percent
b) 50.1 percent
c) 10.9 percent
d) 5.7 percent

23. $200 – The Rich & The Poor Answer
(c) 10.9 percent
From 1978 to 2014, inflation-adjusted CEO compensation and increased it 997 %, a rise almost double stock market growth and substantially greater than the painfully slow 10.9 percent growth in a typical worker’s annual compensation over the same period.
The CEO-to-worker compensation ratio, 20-to-1 in 1965, peaked at 376-to-1 in 2000 and was 303-to-1 in 2014, far higher than in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s.

24. $400 – The Rich & The Poor $400 – The Rich & The Poor
The successful candidates for U.S. Senate in 2016 spent an average of how much money on his or her Senate campaign?
a) $5.1 million
b) $3.8 million
c) $7.3 million
d) $10.4 million

25. $400 – The Rich & The Poor Answer
(d) $10.4million
The average dollars spent on a Senate race in 2004 was 3.8 million dollars. After the Citizens United decision, that figure has ballooned to an average of 10.4 million dollars.

26. $600 – The Rich & The Poor $600 – The Rich & The Poor
As of 2015, the richest 1% owned more wealth than _____ percent of all Americans.
a) 50%
b) 30%
c) 90%
d) 75%

27. $600 – The Rich & The Poor Answer
The gap between the top 10% and the middle class is over 1,000%; that increases another 1,000% for the top 1%. The average employee "needs to work more than a month to earn what the CEO earns in one hour.

28. $800 – The Rich & The Poor $800 – The Rich & The Poor
In 1980, Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of U.S. corporations were paid an average of 42 times the wage of the average worker. In 2014 compensation for CEOs was how many times higher than the average factory worker?
354 times higher
281 times higher
180 times higher
79 times higher

29. $800 – The Rich & The Poor Answer
(a) 354 times higher
Economic Policy Institute Report, 2014.

30. $1,000 – The Rich & The Poor $1,000 – The Rich & The Poor
More Americans have been investing in the stock market. What percentage of all stocks are owned by the bottom 90% of Americans?
70 %
49 %
10 %
4 %

31. $1,000 – The Rich & The Poor Answer
(c) 10 % Arthur B. Kennickel, “Ponds and Streams: Wealth and Income in the US, ,” based on the Survey of Consumer Finances.

32. $200 – Low Wage Nation $200 – Low Wage Nation
What percentage of jobs created since the recent economic recovery are considered low-wage jobs?
a) 21%
b) 48%
c) 58%

33. $200 - Low Wage Nation Answer
c) 58%
Laura, Clawson, Daily Kos 4/2/13

34. $400 – Low Wage Nation $400 – Low Wage Nation
What is the most common sector for low-wage work?
Retail Sales
Food Prep
Janitorial Services
Hospitality

35. $400 - Low Wage Nation Answer
Retail Sales:
4.3 million retails sales workers making on average $25,310/yr.
Laura Clawson

36. $600 - Low Wage Nation $600 - Low Wage Nation
The current Federal minimum wage is:
$5.25/hr
$7.25/hr
$8.25/hr
$10.00/hr

37. $600 - Low Wage Nation Answer
b) $7.25: The minimum wage was last increased in 2009.

38. $800 - Low Wage Nation $800 - Low Wage Nation
How many minimum wage workers are there in the U.S.?
8 million
18 million
26 million
40 million

39. $800 - Low Wage Nation Answer
b) 18 million: A full-time worker at minimum wage earns $15,080/yr.

40. $1,000 - Low Wage Nation $1,000 - Low Wage Nation
Who proposed ending child labor laws by recommending schools fire their adult janitors and employ poor children at lower rates?
Newt Gingrich
Mitt Romney
Rick Santorum
Donald Trump

41. $1,000 - Low Wage Nation Answer
a) Newt Gingrich