Census Reports Slight Increase in ’05 Incomes

[many a good man]

The nation’s median household income rose slightly faster than inflation last year for the first time in six years, the Census Bureau reported yesterday.

The rise, however, had little to do with bigger paychecks — in fact, both men and women earned less in 2005 than 2004. Rather, census officials said, more family members were taking jobs to make ends meet, and some people made more money from investments and other sources beyond wages.

The glimmer of improvement came after years in which the economy slogged through the bursting of the 1990’s stock market boom, a brief economic downturn, the aftershocks from the 2001 terrorist attacks, a series of corporate scandals and growing evidence of a deepening divide between rich and poor.

While the economy has been strong by most statistical measures for the past several years, its benefits have not translated into improvements in the standard of living for many people. In New York, the proportion of city residents living below the poverty level has not changed in the last five years.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/30/us/30census.html?ex=1314590400&en=4a14be9fc2555e71&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss

[YankeyMCC]

1. Census Reports Slight Increase in ’05 Incomes

(snip)
The nation’s median household income rose slightly faster than inflation last year for the first time in six years, the Census Bureau reported yesterday.

The rise, however, had little to do with bigger paychecks — in fact, both men and women earned less in 2005 than 2004. Rather, census officials said, more family members were taking jobs to make ends meet, and some people made more money from investments and other sources beyond wages
(snip)

(snip)
The new data also showed continuing erosion in the percentage of Americans covered by health insurance. In 2005, an estimated 46.6 million people had no coverage, up 1.3 million since 2004 and increasing the percentage of Americans without health coverage from 15.6 percent of the population to 15.9 percent.
(snip)

(snip)
The 5.9 percent drop in median household income since 1999 was not shared equally around the country. In Michigan, median household income fell 11.9 percent between 1999 and 2005. In North Carolina, it was 11.2 percent, in Utah 10.4 percent and in Indiana 9.5 percent.
(snip)

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/30/us/30census.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5089&en=4a14be9fc2555e71&ex=1314590400&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss

WTF is with the choice of the headline of this piece. Right on the heels of the recent story of real wages declining for most? The article actually contains more proof of the income gap and the continued economic struggle of the poor and increasingly the middle class but they chose to headline it as "a slight rise" ... what about "More information about income gap!"

[acmavm]

2. Just the NYT doing its very best to make an ugly reality

seem like a good thing for the criminal administration.

Nothing new.

[bluestateguy]

3. Guess they didn't poll me

nt

[mainegreen]

4. To bad inflation is incorrectly calculated. nt

[Javaman]

5. They are working hard to polish this turd.

Increase? maybe to the CEO's but I haven't seen one.

More water carriers.