The wealthiest 1 percent of those in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama captured nearly half of the states’ income gains over the past generation and nearly two thirds of all income gains since the last recession.
Researchers for the Economic Policy Institute found that the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans earned, on average, 30 times more than the bottom 99 percent.
While the income gap was less in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama where the wealthiest individuals were usually not quite as rich, tax returns indicate that even in the South the top 1 percent of wage earners captured nearly as much in income gains as the entire rest of the population.
Income inequality
* In Tennessee, the top 1 percent earn 24 times more than the bottom 99 percent * In Georgia, the top 1 percent earn 23 times more than the bottom 99 percent * In Alabama, the top 1 percent earn 21 times more than the bottom 99 percent * Nationwide, the top 1 percent earn 30 times more than the bottom 99 percent Source: Economic Policy Institute study based upon IRS tax data from 1979 to 2012
The lopsided income growth was even more pronounced from 2009 to 2012 coming out of the worst economic downturn since the Great Recession.