Incomes drop in 2011, rich and poor divide deepens

``For the 10 percent, or 12.1 million, of U.S. households with the lowest annual income -- below $12,000 -- their income fell 2 percent from 2010 to 2011, from $12,235 to $12,000. But the top 10 percent of households, with incomes above $143,600, saw their median incomes increase slightly. The 1 percent, or 1.2 million, of households at the very top of the income ladder saw their median household income jump 5.5 percent, from $331,729 in 2010 to $350,016, Welniak said. The numbers don't reflect investment income or earnings on interest, he said. "A lot of the increase in inequality from 2010 to 2011 is driven by changes in the very top of the (income) distribution," Johnson said.''