be honest and own up to their greedy manipulation of our supposedly free-market system.

"I am very offended by [Wall Street's] attitude and behaviors toward the working people," she added, "but I guess they figure they do not need us as they just look and find new markets worldwide."

With Washington in a state of perpetual gridlock, an economy that is persistently anemic and the nation's ever-widening income gap, many wonder if the American Dream is still within reach.

Since the 2008 Wall Street crash, millions of Americans have been plunged into joblessness and an increasing number of families across the country have found themselves on the streets in the wake of the nation's housing collapse. And the number of bankruptcies nationwide has soared.

Yet, for a select few, the Great Recessionhas been anything but.

The number of millionaires in the United States rose in 2009 by 16 percent. The average compensation for CEOs at S&P Index 500 companies last year averaged $11.4 million. But while CEO paychecks grew, the number of Americans on food stamps in 2010 topped 40 million for the first time in the nation's history. And according to the U.S.

Department of Agriculture, that number is expected to grow to 43 million this year.

New York state has the greatest income inequality among all 50 states, according to 2009 American Communities Survey data.

"America's working families have suffered as the economy collapses around us," said NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi. "Unemployment in many places is above 9 percent. Foreclosures are at record highs, and those fortunate enough to have jobs