"Income disparities before that crisis [the 1929 stock-market crash] and before the recent one were the greatest in approximately the last 100 years.

"In 1928, the top 10 percent of earners received 49.29 percent of total income.

"In 2007, the top 10 percent earned a strikingly similar percentage: 49.74 percent.

"In 1928, the top 1 percent received 23.94 percent of income.

"In 2007, those earners received 23.5 percent."--from

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/weekinreview/22story.html?_r=1&ref=weekinreview

Income Inequality and Financial Crises

By LOUISE STORY

Published: August 21, 2010