Viral video shows how wealth is really distributed

Think you know how wealth is distributed in America? Think again.

A YouTube video that's gone viral recently shows that our perceptions of who has money and how much they have is quite skewed. The poor and middle class have a lot less than most people think, while the rich have a lot more. And the Top 1% are off the charts.

The video, which has been viewed more than 3.8 million MORE

Americans are earning more than their parents

The good news: Americans are much more likely to have higher incomes than their parents. But just how much more depends greatly on their race, education and their parents' income level, according to new Pew Economic Mobility Project data.

Some 83% exceed their parents' income by at least $1,000.

Those born rich are more likely to greatly out earn their parents. For instance, 27% of those raised in the highest-income families made MORE

How Americans want their tax dollars spent

As lawmakers bicker over how to spend federal tax dollars, Americans have a few suggestions for them.

According to a recent online survey of 1,000 consumers by TD Ameritrade (AMTD), people clearly want the government to focus even more on health care. Jobs are important as well. And there are some interesting differences between what men would like the government to spend more on and what women view as a priority MORE

New job, less pay

Lots of people laid off during the recession are landing new jobs ... but they are making a whole lot less.

Some 52% of unemployed people surveyed recently by Rutgers University found new positions within six months of losing their jobs.

But roughly an equal share of the unemployed who landed new jobs had to settle for pay cuts, according to the report by Rutgers' Heldrich Center for Workforce Development.

Here are the MORE

Black workers' unemployment gap

Though blacks' job prospects have improved from the depths of the Great Recession, they still suffer from disproportionately high unemployment.

Pegged to Black History Month, the U.S. Congress' Joint Economic Committee put out a stats sheet highlighting the gap. It takes longer, on average, for black workers for find a job, and even having a college degree doesn't help as much as it does for other job-seeking populations. The black unemployment rate MORE

Unions in trouble

The slow, steady decline of unions continued in 2012, when membership shrank by nearly 400,000.

States kept chipping away at unions' power, with the latest blow coming in Michigan, where workers at union-represented employers can now forgo paying dues.

CNNMoney takes a look at unions' recent troubles:

Membership peaked in 1953 and is now at its lowest level in nearly a century.

Women bore the brunt of the decline.

Unions remain more prevalent in government MORE

What Americans earn

Median weekly earnings in the U.S. for wage and salary workers were $775 at the end of 2012.
But just how much you make depends on a number of factors, including your race and gender,
CNNMoney gives you a snapshot into what Americans earn:

The more schooling you have, the more you get in your paycheck.

And your profession has a big impact:

It's well-known that women make less than men...but the size of the MORE

Your taxes under the fiscal cliff deal

The fiscal cliff deal contains a wide array of tax provisions that will affect taxpayers. Here's the list of what is -- and isn't -- in the agreement:

Payroll taxes: Wage earners will now pay a 6.2% payroll tax on the first $113,700 in wages since the deal did not extend the 4.2% rate that had been in place for two years. That means workers earning the national average salary of MORE

Fiscal cliff confusion on Form 1040

There are some new lines on the Form 1040 thanks to the fiscal cliff. The IRS has had to set aside space for provisions that Congress hasn't approved yet, leaving those lines as "reserved."

Are you a teacher who spent up to $250 on pencils, books or other classroom supplies? Well, you'll find Line 23 now says "reserved" instead of "educator expenses deduction."

Are you a student looking to deduct up to MORE

Health care premiums rise by an average of 62% since 2003

Average health insurance premiums for employer-sponsored family coverage soared 62% between 2003 and 2011, far outpacing the rise in wages, a new study found.

By 2011, there were 35 states in which the annual premium equaled 20% or more of income, according to a study issued Wednesday by The Commonwealth Fund. This compares to just one state in 2003.

Premiums in the south and south-central United States were the highest relative to MORE