Income gap may be hurting state’s recovery

The widening gap between the wealthiest Americans and everyone else is not just a social issue. A new report from Standard & Poor’s notes that the income for most Americans has barely kept pace with inflation. That has hurt the economic recovery nationally and at the state level because consumer spending fuels about 70 percent of the economy, Associated Press reported. And though the income of many wealthy Americans has risen significantly, they tend to shield portions of it from taxes and spend a smaller percentage of it on purchases that generate state sales taxes. – Phillip Brownlee

This story was originally published September 23, 2014 at 7:06 PM with the headline "Income gap may be hurting state’s recovery."