Some Economic Numbers That Will Make You See Red, Part I

By now, you don’t need me to tell you the system is rigged to make the rich even richer at the expense of everyone else. You don’t even need reports and statistics to know in your gut this is true. You’ve probably seen or read at least a story or two in recent years relaying the obscene shift of wealth over the past three decades  away from most Americans and toward those at the very top. Still, I bring you some numbers today that should alarm you anew. Let’s start with the decline in your family’s income:

 If you’ve read the new Census Bureau report on income, poverty, and health insurance you may be asking yourself: Where did our $7,000 go? …  Actually, the statistics tell us that the figure for your household is probably even larger than that. The average under-65 household in the United States has lost $7,490 in annual income since the year 2000, according to 2012 census data. 

That’s $624 per month. $144 per week. $20 per day. 

While it’s true we’ve been through a tough recession, that $7,000 hasn’t just disappeared. Someone got it. It just wasn’t you. Corporate profits are at record levels. American workers’ wages, on the other hand…

That’s a pretty stark truth: American households are making less because corporations are making more. They have slashed wages and workforce in a never-ending quest to “return shareholder value” — which is just another way of saying “sending wealth to the super-wealthy” who own far more stock than average Americans.

And for the rest of us, this sets up a climate where things can only continue to get worse. “Had households received their missing $7,000, it might have been spent on home improvements, consumer goods, other kinds of services. That’s the kind of spending that leads directly to increased employment – and therefore to better wages for everyone.”

Angry yet? Stay tuned for part two, where you’ll learn just how much the average American household spends to subsidize big business.

By: Sandi Behrns

Sandi Behrns is a noted policy nerd, new media & web developer, and consultant to progressive organizations and campaigns. She is a senior contributor to Liberaland, and the Executive Editor of Progressive Congress News.