Have you heard the terrible, awful news?
Over roughly the last three decades, specifically from 1979 to 2007, Americans across all segments of the economy — from the poorest to the richest — have seen their incomes rise.
It just doesn’t get any worse, eh?
If you haven’t committed hara-kiri, here are the cold, hard facts from the Congressional Budget Office report:
- The poorest fifth of the population, on average, saw their inflation-adjusted incomes increase 18 percent.
- The 60 percent of Americans in the middle earned nearly 40 percent more, after taxes.
- Those of us from the 80th percentile to the 99th had income gains of 65 percent.
- Incomes for the top one percent of earners were up a whopping 275 percent.
One might think that universally higher incomes are a good thing, but that depends on how you look at it.
“If you think of America’s total income as one giant pie,” an ABC World News Tonight report explained, “the richest one percent have seen the size of their piece double over the last 30 years. And everyone else has seen their piece get smaller.”
Well, I’m really hoping that we won’t start thinking of all our incomes as “one giant pie.”
What about this 99 percent versus 1 percent warfare?
That’s media slant. Most Americans don’t begrudge someone good fortune, and affirmatively admire those who grow wealthy in return for smarts and hard work.
But they do oppose bailouts.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
4 replies on “An Embarrassment of Riches”
Wealth envy doesn’t work if people focus on that their own pie(income) has increased. They have to also be upset that someone else got more..
Sort of like the religious zealots that can’t sleep at night knowing that somewhere, someone is having a good time.
[…] Common Sense with Paul Jacob – An Embarrassment of Riches: “Have you heard the terrible, awful news? Over roughly the last three decades, specifically from 1979 to 2007, Americans across all segments of the economy — from the poorest to the richest — have seen their incomes rise.” […]
you are a typical well-fed, tie-wearing asshole, looking at the world through the binoculars from the wrong end. i have 6 years of college, used to have a professional career, and the rug got pulled out from under my industry. three years with no job so far. speaking from a cushy place is nice work if you can get it. enjoy it while you can. it’d be nice if we could occupy your head, but it’s too full of dogma.
Bob Carlson doesn’t know Paul Jacob. I do. “typical well-fed, tie-wearing asshole” is not an accurate description of a principled, hard working man who has done more than Bob Carlson (I am quite sure of that) has ever done for justice. I am amazed by the arrogance of a man who writes “I have 6 years of college…,” as if the world owes him a living because he went to college. The world doesn’t owe me a damn thing, other than respect for my right to try my best. Bob’s remarks make it clear that he’s just waiting for a “cushy job,” which is “nice work if you can get it.” Three years of unemployment (“with no job so far”) really says a lot about a man.