Edwin Rios writes—Incomes Are Up and Poverty Is Down, but Guess Which Americans Have Gained the Most:
Poverty was down in the United States last year and so was the number of Americans without health insurance. Our median household incomes had their best one-year increase ever, topping $56,500—the highest level since 2007, just before the Great Recession.
New figures released this week by the US Census Bureau show that many Americans are finally reaping the benefits of the nation's economic recovery. The changes accompany a year of job growth—unemployment dropped from 6.2 percent in 2014 to 5.3 percent in 2015—and modest raises to minimum wages in 21 states and DC, notes Sheldon Danziger, president of the Russell Sage Foundation. Danzinger says he also anticipates a "modest gain" in growth for 2016. "The good news is the economy is moving in the right direction. We've recovered almost all the ground lost during the Great Recession," he says. "The bad news, of course: We've got a long way to go to get people at the bottom and in the middle to where they were at the turn of the century."
HIGH IMPACT STORIES• THIS WEEK’S HIGH IMPACT STORIES
TOP COMMENTS
TWEET OF THE DAY
BLAST FROM THE PAST
At Daily Kos on this date in 2008—Whose Side Are McCain's Advisors On?
Poor John McCain. In just a few short weeks he's gone from mocking celebrity, to using it as a crutch to bring in crowds for his own events...and unfortunately for him, it seems to be going to the crutch's head. And now he has senior advisors piling on.
Earlier today, McCain's top policy advisor, Nancy Pfotenhauer, appeared on MSNBC and was asked about Chuck Hagel (R-NE) saying that Sarah Palin lacked the experience to be president. Pfotenhauer said:
So, I do believe that Senators tend to view other senate experience as the most important while the American people have shown in election after election that they view being governor of a state to be absolutely crucial. That's why whether it's Republicans or Democrats, I mean you go back through history and see why governors tend to do very, very well in presidential elections because the American people recognize running a state is probably the best training for running a country.
Was Ms. Pfotenhauer confused about who was at the top of the ticket? Or is she hoping the voters will forget?
Monday through Friday you can catch the Kagro in the Morning Show 9 AM ET by dropping in here, or you can download the Stitcher app (found in the app stores or at Stitcher.com), and find a live stream there, by searching for "Netroots Radio.”
|