Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Are You Better Off than Your Parents Were?

For Americans under the age of 55, the answer is no. It is not just the Great Recession that has set us back, either. Rather, the recession has unmasked the long-term decline in our standard of living. Yet most of us continue to assert that we are better off than our parents were at the same age. Even those of us with doubts are likely to blame our problems on the recession and assume any setbacks are temporary. How wrong we are.

Let's take a look at what has happened to our standard of living. To do that, we must dive deeply into the numbers--an effort that requires navigating the backwaters of the Census Bureau's voluminous online presence. It is tedious work, which is why you rarely see the revealing comparisons that you are about to read...

Also at the site:
Who Has High Incomes?

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