> Date sent: Wed, 27 May 1998 13:10:15 -0400 (EDT) > Send reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > From: Shawgi Tell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: PROGRESSIVE SOCIOLOGISTS NETWORK <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Elementary Facts I don't think Tell sent this to pen-l. > > Greetings, > > The following data is mainly, but not entirely, for the United > States. Actual U.S. population is about 270 million. > ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- > - "Between 1983 and 1989 the top 20% of wealth holders received 99% of the > total gain in marketable wealth, while the bottom 80% of the population > got only 1%" (Edward N. Wolff, "How the Pie is Sliced," 1995). > > - "The combined wealth of the top 1 percent of U.S. families is about the > same as that of the entire bottom 95 percent" (Holly Sklar, Jobs, Income, > and Work: Ruinous Trends, Urgent Alternatives, 1995, p. 9). > > - "The top 0.5% of wealth holders still own 32% of stocks - double the 16% > share held by the bottom 90%. Bond ownership is even more top-heavy. The > top 0.5% holds 46% of the total, while the bottom 90% holds just 10%" > (Unpublished Federal Reserve technical paper, analyzed by Left Business > Observer, July 17, 1997). > > - "The United States is the richest country on the planet yet it has the > greatest income disparity.... Sixty percent of all U.S. jobs created since > 1979 pay less than $7,000 a year" (Fian Fact Sheet, Welfare by > Corporations is Corporate Welfare, http://www.foodfirst.org/corpwell.htm). > > - "Over one in nine persons in the labor force during 1993 were living > below the poverty line. Of these nearly 12 million workers, 70 percent > (8.22 million workers) fit the category of working poor" (Denny Braun, The > Rich Get Richer, 2nd ed. 1997, p. 238. Based on BLS data). > > - "The wages of the average non-college-educated male fell 10.1% from 1979 > to 1989 and another 7.2% between 1989 and 1995" (The State of Working > America 1996-97, Economic Policy Institute, 1996). > > - "The wages of a young male high school graduate dropped 21.8% in the > 1980s and another 6.9% in the 1989-95 period" (Ibid). > > - "A young female high school graduate earned 18.9% less in 1995 than in > 1979" (Ibid). > > - "While 10.3% of Hispanic families were unemployed in 1996, 19.0% were > under-employed" (J. Bernstein, "The Challenge of Moving from Welfare to > Work," Economic Policy Institute, 1997). > > - "Among blacks 16-25, about 35% were under-employed in 1996" > (Ibid). > > - "For most families, increases in net income have come from more hours of > work, not increases in hourly pay" (Congressional Study: "Families on a > Treadmill: Work and Income in the 1980s," January 17, 1992). > > - "Real hourly pay of wives increased for most families, but for 60 > percent of families, the decline in hourly pay of husbands was greater > than the increase in wives' hourly pay" (Ibid). > > - The total wages of all people who earned less than $50,000 a year - > about 85% of Americans - increased an average of 2 percent a year from > 1980 to 1989, which did not even keep pace with inflation. By contrast, > the total wages of all millionaires shot up 243 percent a year (Internal > Revenue Service). > > - "The cost of a college education rose more than 70% for private schools > between the years 1977-1993, and more than 50% for public schools" (U.S. > Center for Educational Staistics; Figures are inflation-adjusted). > > - "Of the 82 women serving in statewide elective executive positions, 3 > (3.7%) are women of color" (Center for the American Woman and Politics, > 1998). > > - Percent of revenues for public elementary and secondary schools > from the federal level averaged 7.0% between 1970-71 and 1994-95 (NCES, > "Mini-Digest of Education Statistics," 1997, p.51). > > - More than 50% of today's college students will graduate in debt > (National Association of Graduate-Professional Students). > > - Rate of tuition increases before 1978 was 1% below the inflation rate; > since 1978 the rate has been more than twice the inflation rate (Ibid). > > - The student loan default rate in 1977 was 11%; in 1992 it was 22% > (Ibid). > > - American students since 1990 have borrowed as much as the total volume > for all of the 1960s, '70s and 80s combined (The Education Resources > Institute, "College Debt and the American Family," 1995). > > - "Gaps in the academic performance of black and white students appear as > early as age 9 and persist through age 17" (National Center for Education > Statistics, "The Educational Progress of Black Students," 1995, p. 3>. > > - "Hispanic children start elementary school with less preschool > experience than white children, and this gap has widened over time" (NCES, > "The Educational Progress of Hispanic Students," 1995, p. 2). > > - "Bankruptcies increased by 19 percent in 1997 to a record high of 1.4 > million filings" (American Bankruptcy Institute, 1998). > > - "11.3 million children age 18 and under are uninsured - the largest > number ever reported by the Census Bureau" (Children's Defense Fund, March > 14, 1998). > > - "Approximately 13.6 million children under age 12 in the United States - > 29 percent - live in families that must cope with hunger or the risk of > hunger during some part of one or more months of the previous year" > (Community Childhood Hunger Identification Project). > > - "33.1% of all African Americans, 30.6% of Latinos and 18.8% of other > non-whites live in poverty, as compared to 9.9% of White residents" > (Cynthia Taeber, The Statistical Handbook on Women in America, 1996, p. > 145). > > - Hunger in the U.S. has increased by 50% since 1985 (Center on Hunger, > Poverty and Nutrition Policy, Tufts University, 1993). > > - Between 20 and 30 million Americans suffer from hunger (Congressional > Hunger Center, 1995). > > - Approximately 20% of American adults do not have a high school diploma > (U.S. Census Bureau, 1990). > > - "Each year, almost 5,000 young people, ages 15 to 24, kill themselves. > The rate of suicide for this age group has nearly tripled since 1960" > (National Mental Health Association, 1997). > > - Over 1.4 billion people in the world live in abject poverty, surviving > on less than $1 US a day. Another 3.3 billion people live in extreme > poverty (United Nations Human Development Report, 1997). > > - By 1996, 36.5 million Americans lived in poverty (U.S. Bureau of the > Census, 1997a). > > - Despite its recent increase, the minimum wage remains 15% below > its average purchasing power in the 1970s, after adjusting for inflation > (Kaufman, 1997). > > - In 1996, approximately 41.7 million Americans had no health insurance > (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1997b). Another 40 million had only limited > coverage. > > - The average income of families in the middle fifth of the income > distribution fell in 25 states between the late 1970s and the mid-1990s" > (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Pulling Apart: A State-by-State > Analysis of Income Trends, December 16, 1997, http://www.cbpp.org/pa-1test.htm). > > - White, black and Latina women, respectively, earn 75, 65 and 56 percent > of white male wages (The International Association of Machinists and > Aerospace Workers, 1996). > > - Ninety-six percent of top executives are men (Ibid). > > - "Women make up nearly 70% of the world's poor and more than 65% of the > illiterate" (International Labour Organization, "Women Swell Ranks of > Working Poor," 1996). > > - "In industrialized countries, much of the growth in women's labour force > participation has been in part-time jobs. Women make up between 65% and > 90% of all part-timers in OECD countries" (Ibid). > > - "Everywhere, women are paid less than men, and there is no indication > that this will change soon. The majority of women continue to earn on > average about three-fourths of the male wage outside of the agricultural > sector" (Ibid). > > - "In 1978, corporate CEOs, or chief executive officers, were paid > 60 times what the average worker earned. By 1995, CEOs had increased > their pay to 173 times the average worker's income" (Abid Aslam, U.S. Rich > Benefit at the Expense of the Poor, Third World Network). > > - Percentage of persons below the poverty level was 12.6% in 1970, 13.0% > in 1980, 13.5% in 1990, and 14.5% in 1994 (U.S. Census Bureau, Current > Population Reports, Series P-60, No. 188, 1995). > > - "In the United States, where overall violent crime against women has > been growing for the past two decades, a woman is physically abused by her > intimate partner every nine seconds" (UNICEF, The Progress of Nations, > 1997). > > - "The US, with just 5 times the population of Italy, has 150 times more > children in detention" (Ibid). > > - Share of global income going to richest 20% and poorest 20% of world's > population: > > year share of richest 20% share of poorest 20% ratio rich/poor > ---- -------------------- ------------------- --------------- > 1960 70.2% 2.3% 30 to 1 > 1970 73.9% 2.3% 32 to 1 > 1980 76.3% 1.7% 45 to 1 > 1989 82.7% 1.4% 59 to 1 > > [UN, Human Development Report, 1992] > > - The U.S. has the highest infant mortality, AIDS, road accident, > pesticide consumption, homicide, reported rapes, imprisonment and > hazardous waste production rates among Switzerland, Japan, Sweden, > Denmark, Norway, Germany, Austria, France, Finland and Canada > (The World Bank, World Development Report, 1994 and UN, Human Development > Report, 1994). > > - Military Budgets, 1996/97 ($billions) > > U.S. $260 Germany $42 > Russia $82 U.K. $34 > Japan $50 China $32 > France $48 Italy $20 > > [The International Institute for Strategic Studies: The Military Balance, > 1996/97] > > - "Between 1979 and 1994, the total number of unemployed in the G7 - > Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom and the United > States - rose from 13 million to almost 24 million, along with 4 million > unemployed who have stopped looking for work, and 15 million who work > part-time but would rather work full-time" (International labour > Organization, 1996). > > - "Since 1990, an additional 300 million people are making do without > decent sanitation" (UNICEF, The Progress of Nations, 1997). > > It is essential to recognize that income inequality, wealth > inequality, poverty, unemployment, under-employment, hunger, job > insecurity, suicides, homelessness, student debt, violence, etc. are > inter-related problems which continue to worsen here and worldwide. > All this and more is happening as a result of the international > financial oligarchy's demand that its narrow and self-serving claims > be put in first place. If this means to hell with everyone else, then so > be it. > These facts only further underscore the urgent need for moving > society forward. > The key to solving these interconnected problems is taking up > the politics of empowerment. This means consciously rejecting the Old and > thinking and acting in an entirely New way. It means abandoning the > status quo and taking up discussion on ending the political > marginalization of the working class and people in an extremely serious > and honest way. > All illusions about capitalism overcoming its ills must be > dispensed with and replaced by fresh, modern and progressive ideas. > Modern definitions, up-to-date information and enlightened views need to > be put forward to help guide the people in their struggles for a better > society. > No-one can remain aloof at this time. No-one can pretend > that their daily life is unaffected by political and economic realities. > The anti-social agenda of the world bourgeoisie and reaction only > obstructs the creation of a society fit for humans. Without taking up the > practical task of vesting supreme decision-making power in the broad > masses of the people absolutely nothing will be solved. > > Shawgi Tell > Niagara County Community College > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >
