Do these numbers include the public dole as “pay”? That is an ever increasing chunk of income for more people.
How could there have been a six point overnight jump in real income at the beginning of ‘09? That simply could not happen. It suggests govt bean counters changed methodology to make The King look good. Or did everybody else get a huge bump and not tell me?
That's an argument I've heard a lot in the past, that we got inequality only when we ignore all the welfare payments. In fact, iirc the Heritage Foundation argued that if we consider hours/day worked, education, taxes, and welfare we find that income inequality is just about gone.
...six point overnight jump in real income at the beginning of ‘09?
That's a jump in average hourly wages, they're saying was caused by laying off everyone but management. The average wage went up because we dumped the low wagers. Over the next few years the low wagers came back and the average got stuck.
Agreed. We really need to forget the 'wages' and start considering 'total compensation'.