income inequality

In tonight's State of the Union, President Obama faces a tough crowd: Millions of Americans unsure about whether he should keep his job. He'll be aiming to win hearts and minds, and at least part of that will be an appeal to our wallets. With that in mind, here are three key points that he is likely to hammer home tonight:

Millions of Americans who once viewed themselves in vague terms now see the world divided into two sharply defined groups: the 99% and the 1%. But the line isn't so clear cut, and many of the wealthy have been reaching across it for quite awhile.

Blue State vs. Red State is so last decade: Now, the dividing lines in America are percentages: 99%, 1%, 53%, 47% ... the list goes on. And figuring out who to sympathize with -- or even who you are -- can leave a person 100% confused. We break down the numbers.

The people occupying Wall Street aren't the only ones worried about the wealth gap. Nearly three-quarters of the people in a new poll conducted by The Hill say that income inequality is a problem for the United States. Fifty-five percent of respondents said income inequality is a big problem, while another 19 percent described it as somewhat of a problem.

In most respects, China is a world away from the oil-dominated autocracies in the Mideast now seething with anti-government unrest. But it faces similar issues: high inflation and a troubling wealth gap that could fuel social upheavals, if Beijing doesn't make some big changes soon.

With a tax bill tilted to benefit the wealthiest Americans poised to pass Congress this week, U.S. income inequality is poised to set new records. One key to that shift -- a change in the tax rules that lets the rich pass their wealth on to their heirs at the lowest tax rates in decades.

The TV program "Undercover Boss" shows there's not much difference between top management and employees. But a look at CEO vs. employee salaries tells a different story.

America's big income disparity is creating an economy that's dependent on the spending and investing of the wealthiest. As a result, economic growth may increasingly mean 95% of Americans are still not doing better financially.

Over the past 50 years in the United States, the disparity between the incomes of the rich and poor has grown significantly. Indeed, the contrast between the wealth of the rich and the poverty of the poor, as measured by a widely used analysis tool, is greater in the U.S. than in any of the world's...

One way to measure income inequity, or how far from equal the household incomes are in a state or nation, is the Gini Coefficient. In this measurement (here calculated by the U.S. Census), a score of 0 would represent absolute equality; every household brought in the same amount of money. A score...