Reply #19: Bingo! Comparing mean to median income illustrates this clearly: [View All]

[struggle4progress]

From 1993-2003, US median household income fell by over 3.5%, from $44,968 to $43,318; there were similar declines in all but a handful of states. Per capita income, over approximately the same period, rose by about 4%. Real wages have been falling, so the surplus is going to the rich.

Median Household Income in 2003 Constant Dollars
http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/120505t.htm

Change in Per Capita Income by State: 1999-2004
http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/040405t.htm


Published on Wednesday, May 11, 2005 by the Financial Times
Real Wages Fall at Fastest Rate in 14 Years
by Christopher Swann in Washington

Real wages in the US are falling at their fastest rate in 14 years, according to data surveyed by the Financial Times.

Inflation rose 3.1 per cent in the year to March but salaries climbed just 2.4 per cent, according to the Employment Cost Index. In the final three months of 2004, real wages fell by 0.9 per cent.

The last time salaries fell this steeply was at the start of 1991, when real wages declined by 1.1 per cent. http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0511-08.htm