By: Team Sherrod

People of both political parties like to talk about the American dream: the idea that as long as you work hard, you can earn your way to a better life.

But numbers show that for many hardworking families in this country, that’s not quite the case.

Studies show that in 2015, the top 1% of Americans made 26.3 times as much income as the bottom 99%. That’s something we need to address, and it’s why Sherrod fights like hell every day for policies that help everyone get ahead—not just the wealthy few.

If you’re ready to join the fight for economic prosperity for all, show your support right now:

Market Watch: America’s 1% hasn’t controlled this much wealth since before the Great Depression

Kari Paul – August 5, 2018

Key points:

• The gap between the rich and the poor in America has ballooned over the last several decades.
• In 2015, the top 1% of Americans made 26.3 times as much income as the bottom 99 percent—an increase from 2013, when they earned 25.3 times as much, according to a recent study released by the Economic Policy Institute.
• The wealthiest 1% of Americans took home more than 22% of all income in 2015, the study found. That’s the highest share since a peak of 23.9% just before the Great Depression in 1928.
• The incomes of the top 1% grew faster than the bottom 99% in 43 states between 2009 and 2015. In nine states in the U.S., the top 1% represents more than half of all income growth.
• Meanwhile, one in five Americans say they have more credit card debt than they do in emergency savings and less than 40% of Americans say they have enough savings to cover a $1,000 emergency room visit or car repair.

Read more here.