Census Bureau: The Middle Class and Poor Have Not Gained Ground
Neither the middle class nor the poor have gained ground
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The most striking number in the U.S. Census Bureau’s Sept. 17 report on income and poverty isn’t about poverty. It’s about middle-class, working America. According to the Census, American men who work full time year-round earned less in real terms in 2012 than they did in 1973.
So much for a rising tide lifting all boats. Gross domestic product has nearly tripled since 1973, when President Richard Nixon was still flashing his V sign, but the gains have gone mostly to the people at the top.