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Health costs have been rising for middle class families. Nearly 1 in 5 Americans cannot afford health insurance. Contrast that with health insurance companies, that are in great financial shape, United Health Group profits up 38% this quarter. The company's CEO William McGuire is leaving with a reported 1,100,000,000 dollar golden parachute , even amid reports of the stock options scandal.

The gap between the wealthy and the working is expanding.

“it`s been the greatest transfer of wealth from the middle class to the elite class we've ever seen in our history.”

Corporations are handing out profits to their shareholders and pink slips to their American employees. IBM reported a 47% jump in quarterly profits, meanwhile the company announced layoffs of 400 U.S. engineers.

IBM has hired more than 4,000 workers in India this year alone.

“You wonder how long companies can go shifting jobs overseas, reaping the gains, the cost gains, and yet, causing people to lose their jobs. We have consumers that are not as strong. At some point, that`s gotta come back around , ah… to bite us.”

The Dow Jones index jumped above the 12 thousand threshold for the first time. But for middle class workers, job growth is sluggish, the housing market cooling, and pay cheques/ shrinking.

“we`ve always viewed ourselves as a country that provides upward mobility to everyone who works hard, and that…ar…in America, you can achieve the middle class dream if you do so. And right now the middle classes are not doing very well.”

Higher earnings for the corporate class, less security for the middle class.

According to the AFL-CIO, the average CEO, not the megabuck CEO at the top, but the average chief executive officer makes 431 times the salary of a medium worker in the United States.

Lisa Sylvester, CNN Washington.