Publish to Newswire
Add an EventFrom the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
Federal Reserve report documents widening inequality in US
The Federal Reserve released its “Survey of Consumer Finance” on February 23, a report that measures changes in income and other financial measures and is produced every three years. Together with a number of reports that have emerged recently, the Federal Reserve data gives a partial portrait of the state of social relations in the United States—characterized by growing social inequality and increased financial hardship for most Americans.
Aggregate figures such as those published in the Federal Reserve report can be misleading, and can often distort as much as reveal economic trends. However, it is worth picking apart the data in some detail in order to uncover the reality behind the numbers.
The report includes two basic measures of economic well-being for US families: before-tax income and net worth. Both of these indicators are calculated using mean and median averages, and the report includes a breakdown of these figures by income percentile. The mean is the total income divided by the total number of US families, while the median is the point at which half of households make more and half make less.
According to the report, the mean family before-tax income in 2004 fell to $70,700, from $72,364 in 2001, after taking into account inflation. The median family income, on the other hand, rose only 1.6 percent over the three-year period, to $43,200. By contrast, federal figures from 1995 through 1998 indicate that mean family incomes rose by 12.3 percent. In the pre-recession period from 1998 to 2001, mean incomes rose another 17.3 percent.
More
http://wsws.org/articles/2006/mar2006/ineq-m02.shtml
The report includes two basic measures of economic well-being for US families: before-tax income and net worth. Both of these indicators are calculated using mean and median averages, and the report includes a breakdown of these figures by income percentile. The mean is the total income divided by the total number of US families, while the median is the point at which half of households make more and half make less.
According to the report, the mean family before-tax income in 2004 fell to $70,700, from $72,364 in 2001, after taking into account inflation. The median family income, on the other hand, rose only 1.6 percent over the three-year period, to $43,200. By contrast, federal figures from 1995 through 1998 indicate that mean family incomes rose by 12.3 percent. In the pre-recession period from 1998 to 2001, mean incomes rose another 17.3 percent.
More
http://wsws.org/articles/2006/mar2006/ineq-m02.shtml
Add Your Comments
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Donate
$140.00 donated
in the past month
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network