We aren’t stagnating, after all.
Unless you’ve been hibernating in the Himalayas, you must know of the recent surge in economic inequality. It’s not just that the rich are getting richer. The rest of us — say politicians, pundits and scholars — are stagnating. The top 1 percent have grabbed most income gains, while average Americans are stuck in the mud.
Well, it’s not so. That’s the message — perhaps unintended — from the Congressional Budget Office, which reports periodically on the distribution and growth of the nation’s income. It recently found that most Americans had experienced clear-cut income gains since the early 1980s.
This conclusion is exceptionally important, because the CBO study is arguably the most comprehensive tabulation of Americans’ incomes.
Most studies of incomes have glaring omissions. Some examine only before-tax income; others, after-tax. Many don’t include some government benefits — for example, food stamps, Medicare or Medicaid (health programs for the elderly and the poor). Others exclude employer-paid health insurance, which is a big item. The CBO study covers all of these areas.
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2 comments:
I have always been for low taxes. However when I read the article about the underwater hotel that goes for $50,000.00 a night with a minimum of 4 nights and double occupancy required ($100,000.00 per night=$400,000.00) I started to have second thoughts on lower taxes. Note that this underwater motel is booked solid for the next 6 months.
If someone can pay that kind of money for something so frivolous, then maybe they need to pay a bit more in tases and the middle class a bit less.
Agree. This is just the tip of the iceberg. There is so much money in this country. Only honest people are without.
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