It is a long established fact that real incomes for the poorest 20 percent in the United States have stagnated for at least forty years. Back in 1974, households in this group earned $19,000 a year, when adjusted for the effects of inflation. In 2009, the comparable figure was just $20,400; a rise of just 7 percent.
For most of that period, the richest five percent have done very well, with incomes rising steadily. Over the same period, real incomes for this group increased by over 50 percent.
More recently, something seems to have disturbed this story of rising income inequality. For the last five years, the richest five percent have also seen their incomes flatten out.
Could it be that only the very richest households in America are now seeing rising standards of living?
(Data source: US Census Bureau)
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