Before delving into the origins of this phrase, we must first define it. The haves and have-nots refer to two groups of people: the rich and the impoverished. When individuals who "had it"—meaning money and wealth—were dubbed "haves," the two terms became a widely used phrase and idiom. The haves and have-nots dichotomy exists because most countries are divided between those who have wealth and those who do not. Although there are various reasons for this state of affairs, one factor is certainly poverty. If more people were wealthy, there would be less need for poverty programs. In America, the richest 1% of the population controls 35% of the income. In other words, they take home about half of all income produced in the country. The bottom 90% only takes home about 4%. This is called economic inequality. It means that some people are doing very well while many others are struggling just to get by. In France, the top 1% captures about 8% of total income, which is slightly lower than what is happening in America. But here's the thing: the French top 1% has much higher average income than its American counterpart. This shows that even though there is inequality in both countries, it is not equal. The reason is that the poor in America are mostly black or Hispanic, whereas in France they're mainly white. It is easy to see how this could happen.