40% drop in the median income in the past four years. It looks like this:
via Slate, who attributes the result to declining wages and incomes, the stock market crash, and the bursting of the housing bubble. The stock market and housing crash might be considered one-offs (if you're an eternal optimist) but declining wages looks to be structural and endearing in nature, and in fact should worsen because labor is engaged in a global competition, with the result, as we have seen, that productivity gains have not gone to workers:
via politics of equality blog.
That second chart does not even consider the value of health benefits and deferred income plans, as far as I can tell. So that chart really isn't telling us what the true income of American workers is compared to productivity gains.
ReplyDeleteIt also doesn't account for the increased purchasing power of wages. That would a much more interesting infographic.
i suppose that would be true for both time periods though, so i am not sure that what is left out would change the picture once included. However your point about purchasing power is true...that WOULD make an interesting infographic. If you come up with the data I will make a chart. For that matter if you come up with data showing the other factors you mention I would come up with a chart for that, too.
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