WASHINGTON - Ways and Means Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI) today issued the following statement in response to a new Congressional Budget Office report highlighting the rapidly expanding income inequality in the United States. The report, published today, found that the income of the top 1 percent of households grew by 275 percent between 1979 and 2007, compared with a 19 percent increase for the average American household:
LEVIN: “Today’s report from CBO is just the latest evidence of the alarming rise in income inequality in this country. The very highest earners have seen their incomes nearly triple over the last three decades, while the average household’s real income has risen an anemic 19 percent over three decades. Even more disturbingly, this report confirms what the American people already know: the rules have been changed by the unfair tax policies of the last decade and our tax code is doing less to level the playing field than it was in the past. The American Jobs Act would significantly boost job growth at a time when American families continue to struggle under the weight of the Great Recession. It is time for House Republicans to act on the measure."
CBO Report on Income Inequality
