The U.S. once led the world in middle class affluence, but thanks to a recovery from the Great Recession that involves giving all the money to the already-rich, we’re losing that distinction.
“In 1960,” said Harvard economist Lawrence Katz, “we were massively richer than anyone else. In 1980, we were richer. In the 1990s, we were still richer.”
Not so much anymore. This chart shows that many countries have been closing the gap.
Good for them, of course, but the American middle class is struggling, too. Pew Research Center demographer Conrad Hackett summed it up:
Comments 13
gasstationwithoutpumps — March 14, 2015
Wouldn't it make more sense to compare median income after taxes and health care? After all, one reason US has such low taxes is that the government doesn't cover much in health care.
Chart of the Week: The World is Catching Up to the American Middle Class - Treat Them Better — March 14, 2015
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Chart of the Week: The World is Catching Up to the American Middle Class » Antropologia Masterra — March 15, 2015
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Bill R — March 15, 2015
Another example of complexity rendered simple...another somewhat misleading post which, true to form, castigates America.
Consider:
1. The great recession did not ruin Canadian banks, drag down the whole economy--and public sector employees did not lose jobs at the huge rate we did in the US. Now the US is back so the story needs time to be properly told.
2. Ever wonder how regressive sales taxes erodes the buying power of those "middle class" folks outside the US? The Canadian GST is 13% and added to the cost of every purchase, from buying tires, gasoline or shoes. In Norway and Sweden, the national sales tax is 25%, in Finland it is 24% and in The Netherlands 21%. Ouch!
3. The US is a much younger nation than most of these others too. That will pay HUGE dividends our competitiveness in the years to come, but younger people earn less than olders and that adds to the shrinking gap in middle class income shown above.
The only thing that will keep the US from leading the planet in middle class welfare is the same thing that got us there in the first place: education.
If American youth continue to slide against other countries in attaining STEM degrees and their parents continue to permit public education standards to slip, we will drop like a stone.
In the meantime, if you're not long on America, you're not a wise investor.
Starlarvae — March 15, 2015
Of course, it is taboo to suggest that the 1%, or the oligarchs, or the ruling class, or the powers that been, or the finance capitalists, or whatever you care to call those who make such decisions as are made are very deliberately engineering our standard of living downwardly. Austerity is their euphemism for impoverishment.