DailyDirt: Getting Ahead Is Getting Harder
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
More and more stories about economic inequality appear to be written more frequently. There are all sorts of statistics about the 1% versus the other 99% and how much wealth the top 1% controls compared to the rest of the population. The numbers vary all over the world. Russia apparently has 110 individuals who control 35% of the country's wealth, while worldwide, the top 1% controls 39% of the world's wealth. If you're not feeling rich now, check out a few of these links if you have the spare time.- Is overtime pay really that important for middle class prosperity? Decades ago, American workers earned more time-and-a-half pay than they do today, and there's a billionaire who points out that raising the overtime threshold income to $69,000 (from $23,660) would bring back overtime pay rules to over 10 million workers. [url]
- A few retailers like Costco, Trader Joe's and QuikTrip pay their workers more than other low-cost retail firms. But can productivity gains from hiring and treating employees better actually work across the retail sector? [url]
- Between 1997 and 2013, childcare providers' wages hardly grew at all, according to the National Child Care Staffing Study. It may not be too surprising to see that childcare workers earn near poverty-level wages, but it's a bit disconcerting to see that adults who take care of animals earn more. [url]
- It costs money to save money, so it's not so easy to bootstrap your way out of poverty. Getting sick, having a car break down, getting a parking ticket... are all unlucky events that could ruin your life if you have no savings and a low-paying job. [url]
Filed Under: childcare providers, income gap, inequality, middle class, overtime pay, poor, poverty, productivity, rich, savings, wages, wealth
Companies: costco, quiktrip, trader joe's
