1. Wealth and poverty  Education  Income  Wealth  Intersectionality  class, race, gender, geography, age…..

2. Wage inequality  …..has been increasing, in part, because of the declining real value of the minimum wage.

3. For minimum wage workers “working poor”  The value of the minimum wage has not kept up with inflation. When adjusted for inflation, the value of the minimum wage is 21% lower than it was in 1979.  http://www.osjspm.org/101_wages.htm#1

4. Real Value of Minimum Wage (2000 dollars)

5. Incomes of the Wealthiest  According to Business Week, the average CEO made  42 times the average hourly worker's pay in 1980,  85 times the average worker in 1990 and 411 times the average workers in 2001.

6. Top 20% earn half the income of the United States

7. Wealth Says even more  Top 1 percent own 42% of wealth  About $ 6 trillion (90% of Americans combined own $5 trillion) Investment incomes are not taxed at the same rate as incomes…. And many of our nation’s wealthiest earn their keep via investment incomes…….

8. 10 Richest Americans, 2003 Name Net Worth ($ billion) Source 1Bill Gates46Microsoft Corp. 2Warren Buffet36Berkshire Hathaway 3Paul Allen22Microsoft Corp. 4Helen Walton20.5Wal-Mart stores (inheritance) 5John Walton20.5Wal-Mart stores (inheritance)

9. 10 Richest Americans, 2003 Name Net Worth ($ billion) Source 6Alice Walton20.5 Wal-Mart stores (inheritance) 7 S. Robson Walton 20.5Wal-Mart stores 8Jim Walton 20.5 Wal-Mart stores (inheritance) 9 Lawrence Ellison 18Oracle Corp. 10Michael Dell 13Dell Computer Corp.

10. In other words….. Top 10% own 72 percent of the wealth Control over 80% of Corporations Bottom 90% own 28 percent Control less than 20 percent of Corporations

11. Wealth Income and Corporate Control Equals Power