The Rich are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer...'We Know!' | The Business Desk with Paul Solman | PBS NewsHour

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In the fall of 2007, when the U.S. economy first seemed in peril, I began answering reader queries here on the Business Desk. I still do so, but this page has expanded to include posts from eminent economists, "far-flung correspondents," and a variety of voices that have intriguing and/or useful things to say about economics, broadly defined. Please feel encouraged to respond to any and all of them.

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The Rich are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer...'We Know!'

Occupy DC poster A cardboard poster on display at Occupy D.C. on Nov. 19, 2011. Photo by Elizabeth Shell.

Paul Solman frequently answers questions from the NewsHour audience on business and economic news here on Making Sen$e page. Here are Tuesday's queries:

A pair of Making Sen$e-commenters today about two of our recent pieces:

Carol Boone asks: I just finished watching the piece about high-end and low-end retail. There seemed to be surprise expressed -- that I don't understand. We in the middle KNOW that the rich have become hugely richer and the poor and middle class hugely poorer!

Paul Solman: Yes, we all presumably knew that. What I didn't know was that middle-income companies like Liz Claiborne were repositioning themselves as high end just to stay in business.

Matthew Ryan asks: Hey Paul, I loved your segment about the history of marginal tax rates in this country. I would love to share it with some friends but can't find the video for the life of me! Can you please tell me where I can access this video? Thanks, and please keep doing what you're doing!

Paul Solman: Right here, Matt: What Do Tax Rates' Ups and Downs Mean for Economic Growth?

A tip for any of you looking for one of our videos: you can check out our new video archive page, where you can see all of our broadcast and web Making Sen$e videos on business and the economy. Otherwise, try Googling "Making Sense." Our page is the first result you'll get. Recent pieces are posted there. Or do what I do -- and did do in response to this very question. I Googled "Solman" and "top marginal tax rate." The first result was a Making Sen$e post on the topic. The second was the video.

Editor's Note: Got personal finance questions? Send them to us here or on NewsHour's Facebook page -- financial planner and New York Times blogger Carl Richards will answer them in an upcoming post.

This entry is cross-posted on the Rundown- NewsHour's blog of news and insight. Follow Paul on Twitter.

-- Posted January 17, 2012 | Comments ( ) | Permalink

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*A cardboard poster on display at Occupy D.C. on Nov. 19, 2011. Photo by Elizabeth Shell.* *Paul Solman frequently answers questions from the NewsHour audience on business and economic news here on [**Making Sen$e**](http://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/makingsense/) page. Here are Tuesday's queries:* A pair of Making Sen$e-commenters today about two of our recent pieces: **Carol Boone asks**: I just finished watching the piece about high-end and low-end retail. There seemed to be surprise expressed -- that I don't understand. We in the middle KNOW that the rich have become hugely richer and the poor and middle class hugely poorer! **Paul Solman:** Yes, we all presumably knew that. What I didn't know was that middle-income companies like Liz Claiborne were repositioning themselves as high end just to stay in business.
______ **Matthew Ryan asks**: Hey Paul, I loved your segment about the history of marginal tax rates in this country. I would love to share it with some friends but can't find the video for the life of me! Can you please tell me where I can access this video? Thanks, and please keep doing what you're doing! **Paul Solman:** Right here, Matt: [**What Do Tax Rates' Ups and Downs Mean for Economic Growth?**](What Do Tax Rates' Ups and Downs Mean for Economic Growth?) A tip for any of you looking for one of our videos: you can check out our new [**video archive page**](http://www.pbs.org/newshour/news/making-sense/), where you can see all of our broadcast and web Making Sen$e videos on business and the economy. Otherwise, try Googling "Making Sense." Our page is the first result you'll get. Recent pieces are posted there. Or do what I do -- and did do in response to this very question. I Googled "Solman" and "top marginal tax rate." The first result was a Making Sen$e post on the topic. The second was the video.
***Editor's Note:** Got personal finance questions? Send them to us [**here**](http://www.pbs.org/newshour/businessdesk/2012/01/submit-your-personal-finance-q.html) or on NewsHour's [**Facebook**](http://www.facebook.com/newshour/posts/153548258091135) page -- financial planner and New York Times blogger [**Carl Richards**](http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/06/everyone-should-use-the-overnight-test/) will answer them in an upcoming post.* *This entry is cross-posted on the [**Rundown**](http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/)- NewsHour's blog of news and insight. [**Follow Paul on Twitter.**](http://twitter.com/paulsolman)*