Following on our earlier post on the U.S. Census economic data, today’s analysis by Investors Business Daily notes that, since President Obama’s inauguration, middle class incomes have fallen 4% and the poor have fared even worse, with a 7% drop in earnings.
But not everyone is suffering:
Meanwhile, the wealthiest have managed to eke out gains in two of the past three years. In 2011, the top 20% saw their average income climb almost 2%, the Census data show.
These results are in direct contrast of what President Obama said his policies would produce when he ran for president in 2008 …
These results are highly unusual in an economic recovery, which typically produces income gains across the board. During the eight-year Reagan boom, for example, incomes at the bottom climbed 14%, while those in the middle climbed 13%, and those at the top 22%.
What’s more, despite Obama’s promise that he would reduce income inequality, it’s increased each year he’s been in office, reaching an all-time high after remaining flat during the Bush years.
University of California, Berkeley, economist Emmanuel Saez found that the top 1% captured 93% of the income gains between 2009 and 2010, which is a far higher share than occurred during the 2002-07 Bush expansion.
