When Rich Get Richer, So Do the Poor

1993-2000 The Top 1% income rose 98.7%, and the bottom 99% rose 20.3%
2000-2002 The Top 1% dropped -30.8%, the Bottom 99% dropped -6.5%
2002-2007 The Top 1% rose 61.8%, and the Bottom 99% rose 6.8%
2007-2009 The Top 1% dropped -36.3%, and the Bottom 99% dropped -11.6%
2009-2012 The Top 1% rose 31.4%, and the bottom 99% rose 0.4%

See a trend yet?  When the rich get richer, so do the poor.  When rich get poorer, so do the poor.

Source Data (Thomas Piketty of the Paris School of Economics and Emmanuel Saez of the University of California, Berkeley)

Another piece of information from this report is this.  When the rich get richer, the poverty rate declines.  When the rich get poorer, the poverty rate increases.