Household Income Fell 4.8% During Economic Recovery, Study Finds

American household median annual incomes have fallen 4.8% since the recession ended, from $53,508 in June 2009 -- when the recession technically ended -- to $50,964 in June of this year, a study found.

But for some subgroups, such as African Americans and those without a college degree, the declines were even starker, according to a study conducted by Sentier Research, an Annapolis, Md.-based research group.

The nearly 5% decline during the recovery is even larger than the 2.6% drop in median income during the recession.

"This latest report continues our efforts to help chronicle one important dimension of the economic hardships now being experienced by a large number of American households," wrote co-author Gordon Green. "Based on our data, almost every group is worse off now than it was three years ago, with the exception of households with householders 65 years old and over."

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The Prof said:

Household income fell 4.8% during economic recovery, study finds - latimes.com

ie, things are worse under the "recovery" than they were during the recession

hardest hit: youth, blacks and folks nearing retirement

the only winners: seniors

the middle class is disappearing, poverty is a record high

American middle class is shrinking - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

How America's Losing The War On Poverty : NPR

no wonder jake tapper, mark halperin and chuck todd confess this week their reluctance to cover the economy

newsweek said it best last sunday: hit the road, barack, time for a new prez

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"Based on our data, almost every group is worse off now than it was three years ago, with the exception of households with householders 65 years old and over."

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The Prof said:

newsweek said it best last sunday: hit the road, barack, time for a new prez

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apdst said:

But...but...but...things are so much better since The Messiah got elected!

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CriticalThought said:

I'm sorry, but I don't really see how this is a case against Obama. Are you arguing that under McCain's policies that things would have been better?

I once criticized Bush's choices and a teacher told me that I need to recognize that hindsight is 20/20. The point is that Obama could have kept us from falling into a double dip recession or he could be responsible for a weak recovery and we could be doing way better than now. Either argument is plausible and you have merely speculated that Obama is responsible. But assuming he is responsible you have to demonstrate how things would have been different outside of his decisions, and I don't think you can do so.

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MaggieD said:

When it comes to seniors, they are the forgotten. My mom and her friends are scrambling to make ends meet. Granted. She's 85 years old. But she's done everything right in her life. Saved her money. Lived frugally. Paid off her home in twenty years. **Gasp** Gets a $390/month pension from her 31 years as a factory worker at Sunbeam Corporation and $1,200 in Social Security. The cash she managed to save used to keep her above water quite nicely when interest rates for CDs were 4%. Now? .875%. Suhweet! For the banks.

If it weren't for Cook County's Senior Freeze on property taxes, she would be forced out of her home. As it is, I help with the extras, and I'm grateful I'm able to do so.

President Obama has done absolutely not one itsy-bitsy THING for seniors. And they're in trouble. What would McCain have done? What will Romney do? I have no idea. I can only speak for "what is."

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CriticalThought said:

I'm sorry, but I don't really see how this is a case against Obama. Are you arguing that under McCain's policies that things would have been better?

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there are vets that live on small disability payments and a small SS combined dont make enough to live decently...thank god for tricare

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On the heels of the GSA spending scandal in Vegas, employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs are now under investigation over a pair of Orlando conferences that ran $5 million and featured a pricey video parody of the movie "Patton."

The price tag on those conferences, held last summer, far exceeds the roughly $830,000 spent by the General Services Administration in Las Vegas. The VA inspector general's office says it's been investigating since April and is preparing to release a report by next month.

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President Obama’s $4.4 trillion deficit-reduction plan proposes additional increases in Tricare pharmacy co-pays for military beneficiaries and would begin charging an enrollment fee for older retirees using Tricare for Life health benefits. But the plan postpones any fundamental changes in military retired pay until yet another commission studies the issue.

Unveiled Monday amid bitter partisan fighting over economic policy, Obama’s deficit reduction proposal calls for a modest but a symbolically significant $200 annual enrollment fee for retirees aged 65 and older to receive military health care benefits.

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CriticalThought said:

Although I wouldn't call him the "messiah", I would argue that things are better than they were spiraling into a recession.

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MaggieD said:

I take an absolute exception to this:

THAT is a bunch of baloney. Retired Americans have been crushed by our current economic downturn. They've not only lost 25% equity in their homes, they are living on 1/4th of the income they earned on their cash assets with the artificial "let's help the banks" interest rate fix of the last three-four years. Combine that with Social Security increases that haven't come close to inflation, and an inflation rate since 2008 of approximately 6.4%, and there's absolutely no way they haven't lost much more than the average American family.

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apdst said:

I already know that some folks are never going to stop apologizing for obama

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