The decline of well-paid manufacturing jobs and the rise of low-paid jobs in the service sector, such as jobs in Wal-Mart and McDonald's, have contributed to increasing economic inequality. During the last thirty years, the richest one percent of Americans have increased their share of the economic pie considerably compared to the rest of society. Today, the richest one percent controls about 23 percent of all income and about 40 percent of all wealth. Meanwhile, the average American has seen stagnating real wages since the 1970s. The economic crisis of 2008, due to irresponsible behavior by banks, affected both the rich and the poor and average Americans. Partly because of falling housing prices, there has been a dramatic decline in average
