Hillman Judge Harold Meyerson supplies some striking statistics about America’s inequality crisis in his latest column:

Occupy Wall Street is not known for the precision of its economic analysis, but new research on income distribution in the United States shows that the group’s sloganeering provides a stunningly accurate picture of the economy. In 2010, according to a study published this month by University of California economist Emmanuel Saez, 93 percent of income growth went to the wealthiest 1 percent of American households, while everyone else divvied up the 7 percent that was left over. Put another way: The most fundamental characteristic of the U.S. economy today is the divide between the 1 percent and the 99 percent.

It was not ever thus. In the recovery that followed the downturn of the early 1990s, the wealthiest 1 percent captured 45 percent of the nation’s income growth. In the recovery that followed the dot-com bust 10 years ago, Saez noted, 65 percent of the income growth went to the top 1 percent. This time around, it’s reached 93 percent — a level so high it shakes the foundations of the entire American project. [WaPo]

To make matters worse, intergenerational economic mobility is on the decline. Americans like to think of their country as a land of opportunity, a meritocracy where hard work is rewarded and children can do better than their parents. It’s easier to excuse massive differences in wealth if you believe that anyone can become rich. The latest statistics from the Brookings Institution show that the U.S. has less intergenerational mobility than Germany, Finland, or Denmark.

[Photo credit: Jamie H, Creative Commons.]