American families are experiencing very difficult economic times – the toughest in terms of stagnant wages since World War II.  Their incomes are lower in 2007 than at the end of the 1990s and income inequality has risen sharply. Under the Bush administration, the number of Americans living in poverty has increased by nearly 5.7 million; at the same time, incomes for families in the bottom 40 percent of the income distribution have fallen. Today, one out of every eight Americans is living below the federal poverty line.