BEA

Compare 12 Bear Markets (S&P 500) Aug 1929 – Oct 2008

by Catherine Mulbrandon

in Other

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.

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Gasoline Inflation magnifying glass

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

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Has Middle America’s Wages Stagnated?

by Catherine Mulbrandon

in Growth of Income Inequality, VE Infographics

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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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Real Gross National Income per Person

by Catherine Mulbrandon

in History of the United States, VE Infographics

A NYT article about the .01 Percent had a quote from Warren Buffet that caught my attention: “‘This is a significantly richer country than 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago,’ he declared, backing his assertion with a favorite statistic. The national income, divided by the population, is a very abundant $45,000 per capita, he said, a number that reflects an affluent nation but also obscures the lopsided income distribution intertwined with the prosperity.” This graph was an attempt to visualize that statistic. (Keep in mind that the numbers are in 2000 US$)

{Click on the graph to take a closer look} magnafing glass
Gni per Capita Graph

The US Gross National Income (GNI) represents the total buying power of citizens of the United States. This buying power can be transferred around the economy by taxation and lending. GNI includes Wages and Salaries + Rents + Interest + Profits (also includes Depreciation of Capital + Sales taxes – Subsidies). Since it is “National” it measures income from resources owned by the citizens of the United States, regardless where the production occurs. Gross national income is identical to gross national product (GNP).

The Real GNI data can be found at Bureau of Economic Analysis National Economic Accounts Table 1.7.6. Population data can be found at Census Historical Series and Census Current Estimates .

[tags]income distribution, US income distribution, United States GNI, National Income[/tags]

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