This is why it feels like the recession never ended, By Christopher Ingraham, August 28, 2014, Washington Post: “Take a look at this chart. It shows everything you need to know about why Americans are still so down on the economy. From the start of the recession in 2007 to today, the average price of the things you buy – clothes, food, housing – has risen by 15 percent. This, in itself, isn’t a problem at all. The problem is that wages haven’t kept pace with that increase. In fact, for all but the top wage earners, real (inflation-adjusted) earnings are actually down over the same period…”
Tag: Wage stagnation
U.S. Wealth Inequality
America’s middle class: Poorer than you think, By Tami Luhby, June 11, 2014, CNN Money: “Rich Americans. That’s our global reputation.The numbers seem to back it up. Americans’ average wealth tops $301,000 per adult, enough to rank us fourth on the latest Credit Suisse Global Wealth report. But that figure doesn’t tell you how the middle class American is doing. Americans’ median wealth is a mere $44,900 per adult — half have more, half have less. That’s only good enough for 19th place, below Japan, Canada, Australia and much of Western Europe. ‘Americans tend to think of their middle class as being the richest in the world, but it turns out, in terms of wealth, they rank fairly low among major industrialized countries,’ said Edward Wolff. . .”