Richest 7 Percent Got Richer During Recovery, Report Says

English: Map of the United States. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The richest Americans got richer during the first two years of the economic recovery while average net worth declined for the other 93 percent of U.S. households, says a report released today.

The upper 7 percent of households owned 63 percent of the nation’s total household wealth in 2011, up from 56 percent in 2009, said the report from the Pew Research Center, which analyzed new Census Bureau data released last month.

The main reason for the widening wealth gap is that affluent households typically own stocks and other financial holdings that increased in value, while the less wealthy tend to have more of their assets in their homes, which haven’t rebounded from the plunge in home values, the report said.

Tuesday’s report is the latest to point up financial inequality that has been growing among Americans for decades, a development that helped fuel the Occupy Wall Street protests.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=471710

Occupy Pottstown Stages Peaceful Demonstration To Raise Awareness

A group of concerned citizens staged a peaceful demonstration at the corner of South Hanover Street and College Drive this afternoon to raise awareness about the problems that are plaguing our society and Pottstown.  Occupy Pottstown is a diverse group of people brought together by the desire to promote social change.   The group varied in size over the nearly three-hour demonstration and included all age ranges.  A few dozen people came and went during the demonstration; with several people joining the group after getting home from work.  One person left early to go to work.  Contrary to what some believe, most people in Occupy Pottstown are employed and a good percentage are homeowners in the borough. 

The majority of people driving by had two reactions:  a.  they just looked or b.  they blew their horns in support!  There were a few who yelled clever things out their window like “get a job”, but they were a small minority.

The news media turned out to cover today’s event.  A reporter and photographer from the Fishwrap were present along with someone from Channel 69.

The next rally will be Saturday, November 27th aka Small Business Saturday, in downtown Pottstown.   Occupy Pottstown is looking to support downtown Pottstown merchants.  The rally will be from 10am until noon.

Here are some pictures from this afternoon’s demonstration.