By The Numbers

The income gap is widening faster than you think

Tony Wagner Jan 23, 2015
$280 billion

That’s the amount of Greece’s bailout deal, which the radical, far-left party called Syriza, promises to renegotiate should they win the upcoming elections. Such moves would have big repercussions for the European economy and the global economy, too.

$106 million

Abercrombie and Fitch’s expected profits from last year, less than half of what the company made in 2012. The flagging sales led to the ouster of longtime CEO Mike Jeffries late last year. He made Abercrombie his life, at times quite literally, and a new Businessweek feature shows how Jeffries’ uncompromising vision and eccentricities built one of the top brands in the world, but also led to its downfall.

6.5 pounds

That’s how many pounds of crystal meth a drone attempted to carry over the U.S.-Mexico border before crashing. But you already knew that didn’t you? So why not prove your knowledge of the week in tech news by taking our quiz over at Silicon Tally?

$11,000

That’s how much more money the bottom 80 percent of the population would have per household if today’s economy had the income distribution it had in 1979, the Financial Times reported. Meanwhile, the top 1 percent would have $750,000 less per household. Further evidence that the rich are getting richer, and fast.

$40,000 to $80,000

That’s the range of incomes of those most likely to lose their health insurance as a result of a Supreme Court decision on King v. Burwell against federal subsidies in states that don’t run marketplaces for healthcare exchanges. As reported by the New York Times, other characteristics of this group include being predominantly white, Southern, employed and middle-aged.

162,000

The approximate number of drivers working for Uber in the U.S., quadruple the number from just a year ago. That’s according to new data released by the company, which shows Uber drivers are a rapidly growing and diverse group, but one with a high turnover: 11 percent of drivers quit after a month, and half stop driving after a year.


Clarification: A previous version of this story did not make it clear that Uber’s data release was for U.S. drivers only. The text has been updated.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.