"The average American at 300 million"
"We're richer and more comfortable than ever -- but we're still dissatisfied. Polls say average Americans think their parents had it better."
By Forbes.com
"As the U.S. population crossed the 300 million mark sometime around 7:46 a.m. Tuesday (according to the U.S. Census Bureau), the typical family is doing a whole lot better than families were in 1967, the year the population surpassed 200 million."
"Mr. and Mrs. Median's $46,326 in annual income is 32% higher than their mid-1960s counterparts, when adjusted for inflation, and 13% more than those at the median in the economic boom year of 1985. And thanks to ballooning real-estate values, average household net worth has increased even faster. The typical American household has a net worth of $465,970, up 83% from 1965, 60% from 1985 and 35% from 1995."
"Throw in the low inflation of the past 20 years, a deregulated airline industry that's made travel much cheaper, plus technological progress that's provided the middle class with not only better cars and televisions, but every gadget from DVD players to iPods, all at lower and lower prices, and it's obvious that Mr. and Mrs. Median are living the life of Riley compared with their parents and grandparents."
"Purchasing power keeps rising"
"The fact is that in real terms, the Medians are doing great. After adjusting for inflation, Mr. Median makes 25% more than his father did 30 years ago. Mrs. Median is a lot more likely to work in the professional ranks than her mother was and to be paid about three times as much doing so. And though she still makes only 77% of what her male counterparts earn, this is up from 33% in 1965. They dote on the same number of children -- two -- but waited longer to have them, until both careers were well under way. They also pay less tax to the federal government and have 8% more purchasing power than they did 20 years ago and 5.7% more than they had just 10 years ago."
"But if despite their prosperity, the Medians need some cheering up, there is one powerful person whose wage growth they have outpaced nicely over the past two generations."
"When Lyndon Johnson occupied the White House in 1965, he earned $100,000 a year, or about 14 times what the Medians earned. This year, George W. Bush will earn $400,000, or only about nine times the Medians."
By Tom Van Riper, Forbes.com
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Forbes/TheAverageAmericanAt300Million.aspx?GT1=8618
"We're richer and more comfortable than ever -- but we're still dissatisfied. Polls say average Americans think their parents had it better."
By Forbes.com
"As the U.S. population crossed the 300 million mark sometime around 7:46 a.m. Tuesday (according to the U.S. Census Bureau), the typical family is doing a whole lot better than families were in 1967, the year the population surpassed 200 million."
"Mr. and Mrs. Median's $46,326 in annual income is 32% higher than their mid-1960s counterparts, when adjusted for inflation, and 13% more than those at the median in the economic boom year of 1985. And thanks to ballooning real-estate values, average household net worth has increased even faster. The typical American household has a net worth of $465,970, up 83% from 1965, 60% from 1985 and 35% from 1995."
"Throw in the low inflation of the past 20 years, a deregulated airline industry that's made travel much cheaper, plus technological progress that's provided the middle class with not only better cars and televisions, but every gadget from DVD players to iPods, all at lower and lower prices, and it's obvious that Mr. and Mrs. Median are living the life of Riley compared with their parents and grandparents."
"Purchasing power keeps rising"
"The fact is that in real terms, the Medians are doing great. After adjusting for inflation, Mr. Median makes 25% more than his father did 30 years ago. Mrs. Median is a lot more likely to work in the professional ranks than her mother was and to be paid about three times as much doing so. And though she still makes only 77% of what her male counterparts earn, this is up from 33% in 1965. They dote on the same number of children -- two -- but waited longer to have them, until both careers were well under way. They also pay less tax to the federal government and have 8% more purchasing power than they did 20 years ago and 5.7% more than they had just 10 years ago."
"But if despite their prosperity, the Medians need some cheering up, there is one powerful person whose wage growth they have outpaced nicely over the past two generations."
"When Lyndon Johnson occupied the White House in 1965, he earned $100,000 a year, or about 14 times what the Medians earned. This year, George W. Bush will earn $400,000, or only about nine times the Medians."
By Tom Van Riper, Forbes.com
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Forbes/TheAverageAmericanAt300Million.aspx?GT1=8618