Richmond ranks high in income inequality - The MMJ Post - 24 views
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hcps-johrim1 on 02 Feb 15"Middle-class and low-income individuals who make up most of the population in our state aren't earning enough to buy the goods and services that the economy is capable of producing. The result is a shrinking middle class. Middle-class families, defined as households earning 50 percent below and above the median income, are earning less than middle-class families did in 1989. The decline in high-paying jobs is pushing more families into the lower class, thus widening the gap between rich and poor." This article explores the level of income inequality present in Richmond, the city with the highest income inequality in Virginia and one of the highest in the United States. One in four individuals live on or below the poverty line. Segregation, racism associated with banking, and highway construction limited the poverty level to specific areas of the city. There is no transportation provided beyond city lines, forcing the average-middle class to take the incentive to live in the country as opposed to the city. This forces the lower class to live within the city. The article discusses how stable well-paying jobs have disappeared and not been replaced, causing the American middle class to shrink. The lack of high paying jobs is currently pushing more families into the lower class, widening the gap between rich and poor.