BEA

(I am starting a new series today: 28 days of Tax Data where I will be posting each day something I find interesting about the Untied States’ Tax System)

From the Tableau Software blog Ellie Fields posted an analysis last year comparing the amount collected from Employment tax (Social Security, Medicare, Federal Unemployment taxes which are taxed per employee) vs the amount collected from Corporate tax (which is taxed per dollar of profit). This is for the Federal Government only.

The first graph shows that since the 1960s the amount of taxes from employment has increased relative to corporate taxes

The second graph is plotting the % change in the different between employment and corporate taxes collected. As each recession hit (shown as thick lines of red and pink) taxes collected from employment drop faster (i.e. layoffs) than from corporate taxes (less profit).

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While not quite on topic, these graphics from the 1940s are both rich in detail and beautiful. Via History of Visual Communication

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Screenshot from a New York Times Interactive Graphic How This Bear Market Compares by Amanda Cox, Xaquín G.V. and David Leonhardt that shows the percentage drop in the S&P 500 during the last 12 bear markets. The current market drop is highlighted in red, while the drop after 1929 is highlighted in orange.

{Click on the image to take a closer look}
Gasoline Inflation magnifying glass

[tags]United States, S&P 500, Bear Markets[/tags]

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{Click on the image to take a closer look}
Avg Hourly Earnings magnafing glass

I found a Federal Reserve article that analyzed the change in Average Hourly Earnings for production and nonsupervisory workers. After adjusting for inflation using the Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) {instead of the Consumer Price Index-Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W)} and including an estimate for worker’s benefits, the author concluded that workers’ hourly earnings (wages plus benefits) actually increased by 16% over 30 years (1975-2005) rather than decreased. Here, I graphed the full history, 1964-2006, but used the approach laid out in the article to show the effect of inflation and benefits. BTW, if you earned $16.76 an hour in 2006 that gave you an annual income of $33,520 (assuming you worked full-time).

See also:
Average Income in the United States
Total Income of Top, Middle, & Bottom

[tags]income distribution, income inequality, Federal Reserve, wages, middle class[/tags]

Addendum: This was past on to me from a reader who found it on Marginal Revolution

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