The basis of growing income inequality

The math, via Jared Bernstein:

Willard Romney: "Let's talk about this in quiet rooms..."

"In the decade of the 2000s, productivity  (economic output - i.e. aggregated national income - divided by hours worked) grew 28% while real median household income fell 7%.  Since 1979, productivity is up 84% and real median compensation, including fringe benefits, rose 12%."

Simply put, the pie keeps getting bigger as economic productivity increases dramatically, but the slices going to the typical worker - from the middle class to the working poor - keep getting smaller relative to the size of the whole pie.