The American Gap

The United States is among the countries where the gap between rich and poor is growing, according to a U.N. study. The top 20% of Americans control nine times as much wealth as the bottom 20%, the biggest gap in the industrialized world, according to the the U.N. Development Program.

Also, more American children live in poverty--double the percentage in the developed world and quadruple the rate in Western Europe, UNICEF reports. In 1970, 15% of American children were poor. Two decades later, 20% are destitute.