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Adjusted household income has been essentially flat since the 70s. The percentage of those households with two earners has gone from 25% to 60% during that time

Adjusted household income has been essentially flat since the 70s. The percentage of those households with two earners has gone from 25% to 60% during that time. Productivity has grown nearly every year during that time. This, combined with our rising income inequality, means that the economy is not okay for most people even if a few widely-watched numbers are high. It should not come as a surprise that such an economy would be more fragile than those high numbers would indicate.

throwaway1909 8y ago
Could you give some citations?
- debatem1 8y ago
  Sure. This is pretty much my point in two charts: https://www.financialsense.com/sites/default/files/users/u618/images/2015/0507/03-Labor-Productivity-and-Median-Household-Incomes.png https://www.financialsense.com/sites/default/files/users/u61... http://www.pewresearch.org/ft_dual-income-households-1960-2012-2/ http://www.pewresearch.org/ft_dual-income-households-1960-20... If you want to zoom in on more recent events wikipedia has a pretty compelling chart here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_States#/media/File:US_GDP_per_capita_vs_median_household_income.png https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United...
  - faet 8y ago
    "Real Output" is misleading as capital inputs/investing can greatly change it. Multifactor productivity vs Compensation is pretty equal. http://i.imgur.com/5mOQARo.png http://i.imgur.com/5mOQARo.png
    - debatem1 8y ago
      Might just be me but I'm missing the relevance. The point is that a household which has already maxed out its possible number of workers no longer has the option of sending someone else to work to deal with a sudden expense, so a two worker household is more fragile than a single worker household at the same income. The only reason I bring up productivity is to mention that it hasn't come down in proportion, which this graph doesn't show either.
nickik 8y ago
Whatever the truth is about the numbers you present. The argument that the recession happened because of a fragility of inequality is a highly speculative theory. I have not heard a single economist make that claim. Also, it fails as an explanation because you are explaining a momentary event with a long term situation.
- mcguire 8y ago
  "Also, it fails as an explanation because you are explaining a momentary event with a long term situation." Yes. This is why plate tectonics is widely known to be false.
  - nickik 8y ago
    The earth quake does not just happen because of tectonics. You need some sort of translation mechanism how a long term buildup can lead to a event. Just saying, 'there are plates' is not an acceptable explanation of earth quakes.

throwaway1909 8y ago

Could you give some citations?

debatem1 8y ago
Sure. This is pretty much my point in two charts: https://www.financialsense.com/sites/default/files/users/u618/images/2015/0507/03-Labor-Productivity-and-Median-Household-Incomes.png https://www.financialsense.com/sites/default/files/users/u61... http://www.pewresearch.org/ft_dual-income-households-1960-2012-2/ http://www.pewresearch.org/ft_dual-income-households-1960-20... If you want to zoom in on more recent events wikipedia has a pretty compelling chart here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_States#/media/File:US_GDP_per_capita_vs_median_household_income.png https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United...
- faet 8y ago
  "Real Output" is misleading as capital inputs/investing can greatly change it. Multifactor productivity vs Compensation is pretty equal. http://i.imgur.com/5mOQARo.png http://i.imgur.com/5mOQARo.png
  - debatem1 8y ago
    Might just be me but I'm missing the relevance. The point is that a household which has already maxed out its possible number of workers no longer has the option of sending someone else to work to deal with a sudden expense, so a two worker household is more fragile than a single worker household at the same income. The only reason I bring up productivity is to mention that it hasn't come down in proportion, which this graph doesn't show either.

nickik 8y ago

Whatever the truth is about the numbers you present. The argument that the recession happened because of a fragility of inequality is a highly speculative theory. I have not heard a single economist make that claim. Also, it fails as an explanation because you are explaining a momentary event with a long term situation.

mcguire 8y ago
"Also, it fails as an explanation because you are explaining a momentary event with a long term situation." Yes. This is why plate tectonics is widely known to be false.
- nickik 8y ago
  The earth quake does not just happen because of tectonics. You need some sort of translation mechanism how a long term buildup can lead to a event. Just saying, 'there are plates' is not an acceptable explanation of earth quakes.