1. It's the work of the devilWhat do you have against evolution though?
The Incredible Shrinking Incomes of Young Americans
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88m3
Fast Money & Foreign Objects
Middle class incomes had their fastest growth on record last year
By Jim Tankersley September 13 at 10:13 AM
The incomes of typical Americans rose in 2015 by 5.2 percent, the first significant boost to middle-class pay since the end of the Great Recession and the fastest increase ever recorded by the federal government, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday.
In addition, the poverty rate fell by 1.2 percentage points, the steepest decline since 1968. There were 43.1 million Americans in poverty on the year, 3.5 million fewer than in 2014.
The share of Americans who lack health insurance continued a years-long decline, falling 1.3 percentage points, to 9.1 percent.
The numbers, from the government's annual report on income, poverty and health insurance, suggest the recovery from recession is finally beginning to lift the fortunes of large swaths of American workers and families. The Obama administration and its allies immediately hailed them in glowing terms.
"This exceeds the strong expectation that I already had,” Jason Furman, chairman of Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, said in an interview, in which he called the income report the strongest ever from the Census Bureau. “The news here is the growth rates. I’ve read the last 21 reports, including this one. I have never seen one like this, in terms of, everything you look at is what you’d want to see or better.”
Republicans discounted the improved outlook, saying the overall numbers remain weaker than they should be.
“Today’s report is another disappointing confirmation that too many Americans are still struggling to provide for their families and reach their full potential. The federal government invests billions of dollars each year in programs to help low-income Americans — but more than 43 million people continue to live in poverty. It shouldn’t be this way in America," House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Tex.) said in a statement.
The numbers appear to run counter to a key narrative in the 2016 presidential campaign, pushed by Republican nominee Donald Trump, that America is in decline and working people's lives are getting worse. Trump frequently cites median income stagnation, relying on previous Census data, on the campaign trail. His campaign had not released a statement on the new Census report as of midday Tuesday.
Democrat Hillary Clinton has argued that the economy is improving under President Obama but that working families still need more help to get ahead. Her campaign said Tuesday that the Census numbers reinforce that view.
“These are really positive numbers by and large. They show real progress,” said Jacob Leibenluft, a senior policy adviser to the Clinton campaign. He added: “This is definitely at odds with the picture that Trump provides.”
Real median household income was $56,500 in 2015, the bureau reported, up from $53,700 in 2014. The gain was a combination of rising wages in the economy — spurred by a labor market where unemployment is falling and employers are being forced to compete more for workers — and low inflation.
The 5.2 percent increase was the largest, in percentage terms, ever recorded by the bureau since it began tracking median income statistics in the 1960s. Bureau officials said it was not statistically distinguishable from five other previous increases in the data, most recently the 3.7 percent jump from 1997 to 1998.
Incomes increased for men and for women and across racial and ethnic groups. They grew most for the lowest-earning workers and least for the highest-earning ones, though all income groups saw improvement.
“The highest income growth was in the bottom fifth" of workers, "which is very welcome news,” said Lawrence Mishel, president of the liberal Economic Policy Institute think tank.
The only weak spots were geographic: Median incomes rose by 7.3 percent for workers who live in major cities. For workers in rural areas, they did not rise at all.
All told, the gains brought median incomes nearly back to their levels before the recession, after adjusting for inflation, though they remain below 1999 levels.
Several measures had suggested that 2015 was strong for wage growth. Other indicators had pointed to an improvement for the Americans who are the worst off. The unemployment rate had declined to 4.9 percent as of last month.
Since 2014, increases in wages have accelerated for the one in five workers earning the least, according to new research by Bank of America. In this group, wages are now increasing at roughly 4 percent year over year.
Last week, the Agriculture Department released its annual data on hunger in the United States, showing that food insecurity declined substantially last year for the first time since the recession.
The share of food-insecure households was 12.7 percent last year, down from 14 percent in 2014. Before 2014, food insecurity had remained stubbornly persistent, improving only modestly from an apex of 14.9 percent in 2011. The Agriculture Department defines food security as having access to “enough food for an active, healthy life.”
Middle class incomes had their fastest growth on record last year
By Jim Tankersley September 13 at 10:13 AM
The incomes of typical Americans rose in 2015 by 5.2 percent, the first significant boost to middle-class pay since the end of the Great Recession and the fastest increase ever recorded by the federal government, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday.
In addition, the poverty rate fell by 1.2 percentage points, the steepest decline since 1968. There were 43.1 million Americans in poverty on the year, 3.5 million fewer than in 2014.
The share of Americans who lack health insurance continued a years-long decline, falling 1.3 percentage points, to 9.1 percent.
The numbers, from the government's annual report on income, poverty and health insurance, suggest the recovery from recession is finally beginning to lift the fortunes of large swaths of American workers and families. The Obama administration and its allies immediately hailed them in glowing terms.
"This exceeds the strong expectation that I already had,” Jason Furman, chairman of Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, said in an interview, in which he called the income report the strongest ever from the Census Bureau. “The news here is the growth rates. I’ve read the last 21 reports, including this one. I have never seen one like this, in terms of, everything you look at is what you’d want to see or better.”
Republicans discounted the improved outlook, saying the overall numbers remain weaker than they should be.
“Today’s report is another disappointing confirmation that too many Americans are still struggling to provide for their families and reach their full potential. The federal government invests billions of dollars each year in programs to help low-income Americans — but more than 43 million people continue to live in poverty. It shouldn’t be this way in America," House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Tex.) said in a statement.
The numbers appear to run counter to a key narrative in the 2016 presidential campaign, pushed by Republican nominee Donald Trump, that America is in decline and working people's lives are getting worse. Trump frequently cites median income stagnation, relying on previous Census data, on the campaign trail. His campaign had not released a statement on the new Census report as of midday Tuesday.
Democrat Hillary Clinton has argued that the economy is improving under President Obama but that working families still need more help to get ahead. Her campaign said Tuesday that the Census numbers reinforce that view.
“These are really positive numbers by and large. They show real progress,” said Jacob Leibenluft, a senior policy adviser to the Clinton campaign. He added: “This is definitely at odds with the picture that Trump provides.”
Real median household income was $56,500 in 2015, the bureau reported, up from $53,700 in 2014. The gain was a combination of rising wages in the economy — spurred by a labor market where unemployment is falling and employers are being forced to compete more for workers — and low inflation.
The 5.2 percent increase was the largest, in percentage terms, ever recorded by the bureau since it began tracking median income statistics in the 1960s. Bureau officials said it was not statistically distinguishable from five other previous increases in the data, most recently the 3.7 percent jump from 1997 to 1998.
Incomes increased for men and for women and across racial and ethnic groups. They grew most for the lowest-earning workers and least for the highest-earning ones, though all income groups saw improvement.
“The highest income growth was in the bottom fifth" of workers, "which is very welcome news,” said Lawrence Mishel, president of the liberal Economic Policy Institute think tank.
The only weak spots were geographic: Median incomes rose by 7.3 percent for workers who live in major cities. For workers in rural areas, they did not rise at all.
All told, the gains brought median incomes nearly back to their levels before the recession, after adjusting for inflation, though they remain below 1999 levels.
Several measures had suggested that 2015 was strong for wage growth. Other indicators had pointed to an improvement for the Americans who are the worst off. The unemployment rate had declined to 4.9 percent as of last month.
Since 2014, increases in wages have accelerated for the one in five workers earning the least, according to new research by Bank of America. In this group, wages are now increasing at roughly 4 percent year over year.
Last week, the Agriculture Department released its annual data on hunger in the United States, showing that food insecurity declined substantially last year for the first time since the recession.
The share of food-insecure households was 12.7 percent last year, down from 14 percent in 2014. Before 2014, food insecurity had remained stubbornly persistent, improving only modestly from an apex of 14.9 percent in 2011. The Agriculture Department defines food security as having access to “enough food for an active, healthy life.”
Middle class incomes had their fastest growth on record last year
88m3
Fast Money & Foreign Objects
Alan Pyke
Deputy Economic Policy Editor, ThinkProgress. Poverty, criminal-justice profiteering, police violence, & robber barons. Tips: apyke@americanprogress.org
4 hrs ago2 min read
Middle class incomes finally bounce back
First broad gain in earnings — and drop in poverty rate — since the Great Recession.
The median American household made $56,500 in 2015, a 5.2 percent boost over the year before after accounting for inflation, the U.S. Census Bureaureported Tuesday.
CREDIT: US Census Bureau
It is the first time that real median incomes have risen since 2007. The rich had already seen their earnings climb over the past couple of years.
But the median household saw incomes stagnate and lost ground to inflation throughout the recession and gradual recovery. Tuesday’s figures mark not just a return to growth, but the fastest one-year jump ever recorded in the median statistic.
Inflation-adjusted median household income now stands at the same level as it did before the crash, suggesting that working-class households have only now regained the buying power they lost. Median household income is still below its 1999 levels after the bounce-back.
Joe Biden attacks Republicans for hurting America’s middle class
“Almost everything they call for drives down the standard of living.”thinkprogress.org
The new data also reflect ongoing racial gaps in the American economy. The median black family earned $36,900 in inflation-adjusted terms last year — still below their pre-recession level, and nearly $20,000 below the overall median. Median earnings for a non-hispanic white family, meanwhile, leaped to $63,000 last year and are back at or above the pre-recession level.
Incomes at the top are now substantially above their pre-recession levels. The top 10 percent of earners brought in over $162,000 in 2015 — nearly three times the median family — and households in top 5 percent raked in at least $214,500.
The U.S. poverty rate also fell significantly for the first time in years. 43.1 million people fit the official definition of poverty in 2015, a decline of 3.5 million Americans. The official poverty rate fell from 14.8 percent in 2014 to 13.4 percent last year, the largest one-year drop since 1968.
That is still one full percentage point above the pre-recession level. And many economists argue that the Census’ longstanding official measurement of poverty fails to capture the full reality of American hardship. The agency has developed a Supplemental Poverty Measure, which also declined last year. But 45.7 million Americans were still in poverty according to this more comprehensive, less venerable statistic.
Middle class incomes finally bounce back
Deputy Economic Policy Editor, ThinkProgress. Poverty, criminal-justice profiteering, police violence, & robber barons. Tips: apyke@americanprogress.org
4 hrs ago2 min read
Middle class incomes finally bounce back
First broad gain in earnings — and drop in poverty rate — since the Great Recession.
The median American household made $56,500 in 2015, a 5.2 percent boost over the year before after accounting for inflation, the U.S. Census Bureaureported Tuesday.
CREDIT: US Census Bureau
It is the first time that real median incomes have risen since 2007. The rich had already seen their earnings climb over the past couple of years.
But the median household saw incomes stagnate and lost ground to inflation throughout the recession and gradual recovery. Tuesday’s figures mark not just a return to growth, but the fastest one-year jump ever recorded in the median statistic.
Inflation-adjusted median household income now stands at the same level as it did before the crash, suggesting that working-class households have only now regained the buying power they lost. Median household income is still below its 1999 levels after the bounce-back.
Joe Biden attacks Republicans for hurting America’s middle class
“Almost everything they call for drives down the standard of living.”thinkprogress.org
The new data also reflect ongoing racial gaps in the American economy. The median black family earned $36,900 in inflation-adjusted terms last year — still below their pre-recession level, and nearly $20,000 below the overall median. Median earnings for a non-hispanic white family, meanwhile, leaped to $63,000 last year and are back at or above the pre-recession level.
Incomes at the top are now substantially above their pre-recession levels. The top 10 percent of earners brought in over $162,000 in 2015 — nearly three times the median family — and households in top 5 percent raked in at least $214,500.
The U.S. poverty rate also fell significantly for the first time in years. 43.1 million people fit the official definition of poverty in 2015, a decline of 3.5 million Americans. The official poverty rate fell from 14.8 percent in 2014 to 13.4 percent last year, the largest one-year drop since 1968.
That is still one full percentage point above the pre-recession level. And many economists argue that the Census’ longstanding official measurement of poverty fails to capture the full reality of American hardship. The agency has developed a Supplemental Poverty Measure, which also declined last year. But 45.7 million Americans were still in poverty according to this more comprehensive, less venerable statistic.
Middle class incomes finally bounce back
Red Shield
Global Domination
Yep. the cost of stuff like food and energy will always outpace how fast wages/income rises
88m3
Fast Money & Foreign Objects
Tiny Sliver of Good News Only a Reminder of the Economy’s Overall Terribleness
Still, declining poverty numbers and rising incomes are something to cheer.
In 2015, median household income increased for the first time in nearly a decade. On its face, that alone is progress. Coupled with decreases in poverty, it may seem like significant progress. But those numbers may obscure the fact that, in many ways, Americans are still struggling to catch up after the massive losses of the recession and decades of wage stagnation.
On Tuesday, the Census bureau released its most recent data on income and poverty in the U.S. The report showed that median household income climbed to $56,516, a 5.2 percent increase from 2014 and one of the largest one-year increases ever. During the same time period about 3.5 million people moved above the poverty threshold, in part due to job and income gains and (at least based on the supplemental measure) non-cash assistance from things such as housing vouchers or food stamps. While growth of median income is promising news following several years of decline, median incomes remain 1.6 percent lower than they were in 2007 and lower still than the 1999 median-household-income peak of over $57,000 in time-adjusted dollars. For blacks the gulf between 2007 and recent years is even wider, at around 5 percent less than that pre-recession high. The overall poverty rate is 13.5 percent, a shockingly high number compared to what it’s been during other periods of economic growth, when it’s been dropped to closer to 12 percent.
Median Household Income, 1967 to 2015
The line break around 2013 notes a shift in the Bureau’s income survey questions. (Census)
According to Trudi Renwick, the chief of the poverty statistics branch at the Census Bureau, much of the upward progress in the report was likely due to increases in employment, specifically full-time year-round workers, a group that increased by 3.3 million workers in the last year. That too—along with an unemployment rate that has dropped to 4.9 percent—may seem like reason to celebrate, but those celebrations may be premature.
Full-Time Workers, 1967 to 2015
The line break around 2013 notes a shift in the Bureau’s income survey questions. (Census)
“A focus on the these very good 2014-15 annual changes misses the big picture: The poor and the median full-time worker and household were better off at the end of Bill Clinton’s Administration than they are today,” Sheldon Danziger, the president of the Russell Sage Foundation, said in a statement. Labor force participation remains low, and blacks, Hispanics, and those without college educations still struggle to find work. The report showed little progress when it comes to closing the significant inequality gap, or the earnings gap between the sexes, that so many are concerned about. Certainly, the report showed evidence that things are moving in a positive direction, but many American working families are still miles away from anything that could be described as prosperity.
Tiny Sliver of Good News Only a Reminder of the Economy’s Overall Terribleness
Still, declining poverty numbers and rising incomes are something to cheer.
In 2015, median household income increased for the first time in nearly a decade. On its face, that alone is progress. Coupled with decreases in poverty, it may seem like significant progress. But those numbers may obscure the fact that, in many ways, Americans are still struggling to catch up after the massive losses of the recession and decades of wage stagnation.
On Tuesday, the Census bureau released its most recent data on income and poverty in the U.S. The report showed that median household income climbed to $56,516, a 5.2 percent increase from 2014 and one of the largest one-year increases ever. During the same time period about 3.5 million people moved above the poverty threshold, in part due to job and income gains and (at least based on the supplemental measure) non-cash assistance from things such as housing vouchers or food stamps. While growth of median income is promising news following several years of decline, median incomes remain 1.6 percent lower than they were in 2007 and lower still than the 1999 median-household-income peak of over $57,000 in time-adjusted dollars. For blacks the gulf between 2007 and recent years is even wider, at around 5 percent less than that pre-recession high. The overall poverty rate is 13.5 percent, a shockingly high number compared to what it’s been during other periods of economic growth, when it’s been dropped to closer to 12 percent.
Median Household Income, 1967 to 2015
The line break around 2013 notes a shift in the Bureau’s income survey questions. (Census)
According to Trudi Renwick, the chief of the poverty statistics branch at the Census Bureau, much of the upward progress in the report was likely due to increases in employment, specifically full-time year-round workers, a group that increased by 3.3 million workers in the last year. That too—along with an unemployment rate that has dropped to 4.9 percent—may seem like reason to celebrate, but those celebrations may be premature.
Full-Time Workers, 1967 to 2015
The line break around 2013 notes a shift in the Bureau’s income survey questions. (Census)
“A focus on the these very good 2014-15 annual changes misses the big picture: The poor and the median full-time worker and household were better off at the end of Bill Clinton’s Administration than they are today,” Sheldon Danziger, the president of the Russell Sage Foundation, said in a statement. Labor force participation remains low, and blacks, Hispanics, and those without college educations still struggle to find work. The report showed little progress when it comes to closing the significant inequality gap, or the earnings gap between the sexes, that so many are concerned about. Certainly, the report showed evidence that things are moving in a positive direction, but many American working families are still miles away from anything that could be described as prosperity.
Tiny Sliver of Good News Only a Reminder of the Economy’s Overall Terribleness
Yo seriously how is the black household significantly less than Hispanics wtf...
Because that includes all Hispanics including "white" ones. People like Cubans. If this were Puerto Ricans and Mexicans you would see a different list.
what's the percentage of two adult hispanic households vs black?
88m3
Fast Money & Foreign Objects
If you feel you're underpaid
1.) improve your skill set so you can qualify for better paying jobs
2.) become an entrepreneur
1.) improve your skill set so you can qualify for better paying jobs
2.) become an entrepreneur
All libertarians are retarded
