Many small-business owners and academics aren’t buying into President Obama’s claim that the 5.2 percent rise in household income last year translates into an economic rebound. Truth be told, it could be the opposite.
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On Sept. 13, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that median household income jumped $2,800 -- slightly more than 5 percent in 2015. While speaking at a rally in Philadelphia for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, President Obama called it a “big deal ... the single biggest one-year increase on record.”
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But many Americans see it as a case of “been down so long it looks like up to me.” While household income may have gone up in 2015, “over the last decade there not only has been no growth ... it actually decreased slightly,” said the SBE. This compares unfavorably with the average 1.4 percent annual rise over the last 60 years.
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One reason more people don’t feel wealthier is that the current gain has been “muted by sector-oriented inflation and taxes,” said Craig Lemoine, a professor of financial planning at the American College of Financial Services. “Families are now required to carry health insurance,” he pointed out, “and those premiums have been increasing.”
And then there are those who haven’t benefited at all. The census data shows that 43 million Americans remain in poverty.
