The recession has hit middle-income and poor families hardest. The widening the economic gap between the richest and poorest Americans has resulting due to job layoffs affecting household budgets.

The wealthiest 10 percent of Americans – those making more than $138,000 each year – earned 11.4 times the roughly $12,000 made by those living near or below the poverty line in 2008, according to newly released census figures. That ratio was an increase from 11.2 in 2007 and the previous high of 11.22 in 2003.

Household income declined across all groups, but at sharper percentage levels for middle-income and poor Americans. Median income fell last year from $52,163 to $50,303. Poverty jumped sharply to 13.2 percent, an 11-year high.

“No one should be surprised at the increased disparity,” said Richard Freeman, an economist at Harvard University. “Unemployment hurts normal workers who do not have the golden parachutes the folks at the top have.”

In the Star Telegram analysts attributed the widening gap to the wave of layoffs in the economic downturn that have devastated household budgets. They said while the richest Americans may be seeing reductions in executive pay, those at the bottom of the income ladder are often unemployed and struggling to get by.

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Good financial planning means being prepared for life’s unexpected occurrences. For military families, that’s particularly important because of the transient nature of military life. Repeated back-to-back deployments make it imperative that both spouses have the same financial goals. They should decide how the stay-at-home spouse will hold down the financial fort while the service member is away suggests the Dallas Morning News. Some things to consider:

Get affairs in order
Manage your extra pay
Establish a budget
Plan for retirement
Watch your credit

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Congress is moving legislation to eliminate federal subsidies to private lenders who are making tidy profits off struggling college students.

The House last week passed HR 3221, which would end new taxpayer subsidies to companies that lend students money for college. Instead, the Education Department, which already lends directly to students — at lower rates than private lenders — would become the main source of government-guaranteed loans.

The Star-Telegram says this should be seen as beneficial to students, parents and taxpayers.

The banking industry has already benefited from a taxpayer bailout. And when the economy tanked last year, many banks, along with other private lenders, shut their counters to students until the federal government poured more money into the student loan program.

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In Ohio and Kentucky bankruptcy filings have soared over the past year. These include both personal and business filings, with these continuing in the monts ahead.

According to data compiled by the Center for Economic Analysis and Development at Northern Kentucky University, total filings are up 23 percent in Kentucky and 20 percent in Ohio for the year ending June 30. They’re up in Indiana, too, increasing by 28 percent over the 12-month period.

These three states are among the nation’s top 10 for bankruptcy filings per 1,000 residents according to the Business Courier.

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