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USA TodayThe incomes of the young and middle-aged — especially men — have fallen off a cliff since 2000, leaving many age groups poorer than they were even in the 1970s, a USA TODAY analysis of new Census data found.
People 54 or younger are losing ground financially at an unprecedented rate in this recession, widening a gap between young and old that had been expanding for years.While the young have lost ground, older people have grown more prosperous over the years and the decades. Older women have done best of all.
The dividing line between those getting richer or poorer: the year 1955. If you were born before that, you're part of a generation enjoying a four-decade run of historic income growth. Every generation after that is now sinking economically.
Household income for people in their peak earning years — between ages 45 and 54 — plunged $7,700 to $64,349 from 2000 through 2008, after adjusting for inflation. People in their 20s and 30s suffered similar drops. Older people enjoyed all the gains.
INCOME SHIFTS
Change in median income from 2000-08 (in 2008 dollars):
Age Men Women
15-24 -9.7% -3.3%
25-34 -11.7% -2.9%
35-44 -6.8% -0.8%
45-54 -11.2% -4.8%
55-64 -2.3% 20.6%
65-74 8% 8.7%
75+ 1.9% 3.5%
Source: Census Bureau
What caused the income gap:
• Waiting line for good jobs. Older people are working longer, crowding out young people from the best-paying jobs while boosting the incomes of older workers and seniors.
• Global competition. Low-income workers in other nations have pushed down wages in the USA. Newly hired workers — generally younger people — experience the wage decline first, says economist Dean Baker of the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal-leaning think tank.
• Golden age of retirement. Social Security and private pensions have elevated the incomes of retired people to record levels and reduced poverty among the elderly. Read more:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/census/2009-09-17-young-people_N.htm?csp=24&RM_Exclude=Juno