In the US, the portion going to the top 1 per cent more than doubled from 8 per cent in 1980 to 18 per cent today. Britain witnessed a similar jump during this period, with the share claimed by the richest growing from 6.5 per cent to 13 per cent. According to US Census data, the top 5 per cent of American households have seen their incomes increase by 72.7 per cent since 1980, while median household incomes have stagnated and the bottom quintile have seen their incomes fall by 7.4 per cent. In other words, the neoliberal counter-revolution restored levels of inequality that had not been seen
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