Science shows that the rich got richer

Economists will join physicists to discuss these issues next week in Kolkata, India, at the first ever conference on the "econophysics" of wealth distribution. Physicists are using new models based on simple physical laws to understand the distribution of wealth. Among these physicists is Victor Yakovenko of the University of Maryland, who analysed income data from the US Internal Revenue Service from 1983 to 2001. Data clearly show that the difference between rich and poor has greatly and quickly widened. In 1979, the richest 1% of Americans earned an average of 33.1 times as much as the poorest 20% of Americans. In 2000, the richest earned an average of 88.5 times as the poorest. Link.