Sad News About Workers

Source: The Economist

Interesting information from these two graphs.

• Left hand graph: Output per hour has increased nicely in the  USA since 1970, but median household income has scarcely increase, and is lower now than in 2000; thus half of American households are not benefiting significantly from the improvement in productivity of our workers. The Federal Minimum Wage is lower now in real terms than it was in 1970; increases have never brought it back to the same buying power it had then.
• Right hand graph: Employee compensation bounced around but stayed at about the same portion of total national income from 1970 to the mid 10=990s. However, it is significantly lower now than it was in 1970. Three periods, each several years long, saw a significant decline in the portion of the national income going to workers, the steepest being the most recent.

Bush senior was president from 1989 to 1992; Clinton was president from 1993 to 2000; Bush junior was president from 2001 to 2008; Obama has been president since 2009 but Republicans have had control of the House of Representatives since 2011.