The article states that Americans with only a high school education have seen their real income fall by 12% in the last 25 years. So they are worse off than in 1985. As the article states, the massive tax cuts for high income earners was a key reason for this. So the rich got richer at the expense of everyone else.
I could not find any directly equivalent Australian statistics, but there have been plenty of media articles on how income inequality has not fared too badly in Australia. One of the main reasons (for those with children at least) has been the Howard Government's policy of significantly increasing family tax benefits for low to middle income earners. Particularly for low income families this has offset some of the impact of globalisation which saw low skilled manufacturing jobs exported to China.
We need to be very careful that we do not move down the American path. In Australia, a highly progressive tax system, a free education system and a medicare based health system help, but we need to be vigilent to attacks from the right wing of politics.
