Gap Between the Rich and Middle Class Keeps Growing

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

It turns out that the gap between the rich and the middle class is larger than it's been in recorded American history. Much of the growth in the gap is due to the recent housing crisis taking place over the past three years.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, the wealthiest 1% had an average net worth that was 225 greater than the average American. That's higher than the previous record, which was 190 times in 2004.
An intriguing aspect of the divide is that it occurred while the wealth of all Americans declined on average. The richest households lost 27% of their wealth between 2007 and 2009, while middle class Americans lost 47% of their wealth during the same time period. So, the growth in the gap was mainly due to the fact that the middle class and poor suffered more during the recent recession than the wealthy.

 

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Dr. Boyce Video: Black Economic Empowerment

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

Zachary Rinkins is serious about money. He's been running a very popular financial blog for the past several years, and has positioned himself as one of the most respected financial bloggers in the black community. I love what Zachary is doing because he reflects a generation of young people who are interested in seeing themselves empowered through economic success.

 

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From AOL - Should You Be able to Sue Someone for Dumping You At the Alter?

What would you do if the love of your life up and left you days before your wedding? Well, you couldsue his butt off.
Dominique Buttitta, a lawyer in Chicago, is taking her ice-footed former fiancé to court for bailing on their big dayjust four days before the ceremony was supposed to go down. The jilted bride claims that by calling it quits, the groom "intentionally inflicted emotional distress" on her. She's reportedly seeking more than $95,000 from her ex -- money, she says, that she'd already spent on the wedding.
I think she may have a case, and not just because people sue for less than this every day. I've had neighbors sue other neighbors when their dog crapped on the lawn. Buttitta's fiance crapped on her life. Not only is she now being portrayed as a bitter, spurned woman, she's in the hole for a whole lot of zeros.
Planning a wedding is a big, long, intricate process. I know; I'm in the middle of planning mine. Pick up any issue of "The Knot" and they'll tell you: planning a wedding takes about nine months to a year. And those are a packed nine to 12 months of making lists, touring venues, tasting cakes and spending thousands of dollars in nonrefundable deposits. There's the dress, the rings, flowers -- Buttitta says she spent over $12,500 on those -- invitations, escort cards and a ton of other things that take up a whole lot of time and even more of your money. It's ridiculous.

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Singer Jermaine Jackson Loses Drivers License Over Back Child Support Payments

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

Jermaine Jackson, brother of the late Michael Jackson, is having his driver's license confiscated due to his inability to pay back child support. Jackson allegedly owes his ex-wife, Alejandra Jackson, over $91,921 in child support payments.
According to court documents filed in the Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department, Jackson won't be allowed to drive again until the child support is paid in full.
Back in September, Jackson told the courts that he can no longer afford to pay $3,000 per month in child support for his two sons, Jaafar and Jermajesty. He has asked the judge to cut his payments down to $215 per month, arguing that his ex-wife makes more money than he does.
Currently, Jackson lives with his mother, rent free. He married Alejandra in 1995 and divorced her in 2004.

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Should You Be Able to Sue Someone for Taking Your Fiancee?

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

Former NBA star Antoine Walker is being sued for $5 million dollars by a man who claims that Walker stole his fiancee. Kevin Jenkins says that he caught Walker and his fiancee in an "intimate moment," and confronted Walker about it. He said that Walker laughed in his face to deliberately cause him emotional distress.
Jenkins then says that he became so emotionally distressed that he thought about killing himself.
To date, I haven't heard of anyone being sued for cheating with another person's fiancee. However, I do know that in some states, you can be sued for cheating with someone else's spouse. These "alienation of affection" lawsuits are legal in several states: Hawaii, Illinois, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Dakota and Utah.

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Dr. Boyce Watkins on TheLoop21.com - 12/2/10

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