Sunday, May 4, 2014

American middle class isn’t No. 1….


Steadily worsening income inequality and wealth inequality in the United States has made the American middle class poorer—it’s no longer the most affluent middle class in the world.

For example, the after-tax incomes of the Canadian middle class have surpassed that of their American counterparts.


Lower income families in Canada, Sweden, Norway, Finland and the Netherlands are better off than those in America.

The details were compiled by the New York Times, based on income data from LIS, a group that maintains the Luxembourg Income Study Database.


Median per capita income in the U. S. has stayed about the same for the last 14 years (after adjustment for inflation), that is, no real growth.

Here’s how the Times explains three specific elements of the withering of American middle class affluence:
“First, educational attainment in the United States has risen far more slowly than in much of the industrialized world over the last three decades, making it harder for the U.S. economy to maintain its share of highly skilled, well-paying jobs.

“A second factor is that companies in the U.S. economy distribute a smaller share of their bounty to the middle class and poor than similar companies elsewhere.

“Finally, governments in Canada and Western Europe take more aggressive steps to raise the take-home pay of low- and middle-income households by redistributing income.”

Our government and our political leaders are not taking care of The American Dream.






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