To Have And Have Not

This column was written by CBS News Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith.

There a new L.A. Times/Bloomberg poll out that says 50 percent of Americans think the economy is doing well — and 47 percent think just the opposite.

For conversational purposes let's call it a 50-50 split. Amazing, isn't it, that in an economy where there is virtually no unemployment, where mortgages — while rising — are still very affordable and where college graduates are being whisked out of their cap and gowns into decent jobs, one would think there'd be a little more bliss.

But, alas, pesky little problems persist.

Like the fact that the cost of health care keeps spiraling ever upward, further out of the reach of the almost 50 million Americans who don't have any. Real wage numbers are starting to fall behind inflation, and the buying power of the minimum wage is at a 50-year low.

I wonder if the 50-50 split has anything to do with haves and have-nots.

By Harry Smith