A graph showing what went wrong with the U.S.

Double click to enlarge.

This chart shows the average annual income, year by year, of the bottom 90 percent of income earners (top to bottom scale) and upper 1 percent of income earners (left to right scale).

Unless you have a good reason for believing that American working people became less productive after 1973 or so, and the economic elite suddenly became more valuable, there is something very wrong with the U.S. economy.

LINKS

This chart explains everything you need to know about inequality by Matt O’Brien for the Washington Post’s Wonkblog.

The American Middle Class Hasn’t Gotten a Raise in 15 Years by Ben Casselman for FiveThirtyEight Economics.

More Nails in the Coffin of the Middle Class: 5 Things That Could Make Life Worse for Most Americans by Alex Henderson for AlterNet.

Obama’s “No Growth, No Jobs, No Recovery” Economy Gives Up the Ghost by Mike Whitney for the Unz Review [Added 5/1/2015]

Tags: Income inequality