holes.

words. 

"Despite the addition of more than two million jobs last year, soaring corporate profits and continuing economic growth, income for the typical American household did not rise in 2012 and poverty failed to fall, new data from the Census Bureau show.

“The poverty and income numbers are a metaphor for the entire economy,” said Ron Haskins of the Brookings Institution. “Everything’s on hold, but at a bad level.”

Over a longer perspective, the figures reveal that the income of the median American household today, adjusted for inflation, is no higher than it was for the equivalent household in the late 1980s.

...Since the recession ended in 2009, income gains have accrued almost entirely to the top earners, the Census Bureau found. The top 5 percent of earners — households making more than about $191,000 a year — have recovered their losses and earned about as much in 2012 as they did before the recession. But those in the bottom 80 percent of the income distribution are generally making considerably less than they had been, hit by high rates of unemployment and nonexistent wage growth.

...the government has increased tax levies on the wealthiest Americans and has expanded many programs that aid the poor and the working class.

Still, reversing the tidal economic trends that have squeezed millions of families would take significant policy changes that are unlikely to occur because of the sharp partisan divide in Washington."

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Household Incomes Remain Flat Despite Improving Economy

SEE ALSO:

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The Mismeasure of Poverty

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Making Money Off the Poor