Investigative reporter David Cay Johnston has a new piece up at Al Jazeera on a trend he's long been documenting: the increasing share of national income that goes to corporations, while labor's share shrinks.
Analyzing the first IRS data on incomes for 2013, Johnston reports that average income fell 2.6% even though the economy grew 3.2% year-over-year. As Johnston puts it,
"This is the latest sign of a disturbing trend. An ever-shrinking share of national income flows to individuals while corporate profits expand."
It's been happening for more than a generation: "(L)abor’s share of national income has been trending downward since 1980, except for a spike during the second term of President Bill Clinton. The decline accelerated after the Bush tax cuts took effect..."
For more of the hard numbers and the reasons behind them, click on the link and read the complete Johnston piece. It's an indictment of the policies followed by both political parties.