Wisconsin Becoming More Unequal

According to the nonpartisan Center on Wisconsin Strategy:

The gap between high-income and low-income families in Wisconsin has grown dramatically. A new report published jointly by COWS and the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families shows that over the past twenty years (1982-2003) the average income of the bottom fifth of families grew only 14.3% ($2,519) while the income of top fifth grew 48.2% ($36,000) over the same period. The difference in income growth for the top 5% of Wisconsinites is even more impressive; that grew over 67% for the same period. It is not only the poor who failed to share in claimed national prosperity; middle income families saw their income rise only 23.4% ($9,343) over the past twenty years, showing that it is not only the gap between the rich and poor that is growing but also the gap between Wisconsin’s middle and upper income families.

You can read the full report here.