In the September 2008 issue of The Region, Terry Fitzgerald, Senior Economist at the Minneapolis Fed, has another revealing article. In this one he explains that
after adjusting the Census Bureau data for three key factors — inflation-adjusted median household income for most household types increased by roughly 44 percent to 62 percent from 1976 to 2006. The only household types with substantially lower growth were “working-age male householder without spouse present” and “male householder with children but without spouse,” but these types constitute just 10 percent of all households. Household income inequality increased notably over this period; nonetheless, middle American households had substantial income gains.
Fitzgerald’s analysis is careful and data-rich; it can be found by clicking here, and then clicking on “Where Has All the Income Gone?” (An earlier, related article by Fitzgerald is discussed here.)
