The negative economic effects of the pandemic have hit low-income workers disproportionately harder. Dr. Perryman explains why.
Data from 2019 shows income inequality between top earners and lower-income workers increased. Dr. Perryman explains contributing factors and what this data tells us.
Prop 4, a constitutional amendment making it more difficult for lawmakers to pass a state income tax, passed by a three to one margin.
The latest Census report on income inequality shows the US has the highest level since they began keeping this measure a half century ago.
Dr. Perryman weighs in on news from the Census Bureau that median US household income hit an all time high last year, $59,039.
The world economic forum in Switzerland is underway, and one of the major topics is income inequality. Dr. Perryman says there are a number of factors at play.
The more than ten years of sustained economic expansion that preceded the pandemic, the longest period of growth in US history, brought notable progress across a broad spectrum. The latest income and poverty data from the US Census Bureau (through 2019) illustrate this point, indicating how the sustained strength benefitted individuals and families across the nation. Real (inflation-adjusted) median household income increased an impressive 6.8% between 2018 and 2019 to reach $68,703. It was the highest level since the series began (1967). It's an impressive increase from just five years prior in 2014, when median household income was $58,001, which was lower than five years prior to that in 2009 ($59,458). Keep in mind that the median is the level at which half are above and half are below; it's not just some huge gains at the top end driving the increases (although there has been some widening of the gap).
It is widely known that, in general, more education leads to higher incomes. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks median weekly earnings by education level, and recently released a summary of results going back to 2010. The differences are striking and undeniable.