

The long, agonizing decline of the U.S. economy, in one chart - penguindev
http://knowmore.washingtonpost.com/2014/02/10/the-long-agonizing-decline-of-the-u-s-economy-in-one-chart/

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penguindev
When I saw this chart, the one mitigating thing I thought of was company
provided health insurance. Surely that makes up for some of the lost salary?
Alas, when I checked wikipedia, employer provided health insurance expanded
dramatically soon after WWII due to price controls on salaries. (benefits were
exempt). [1]

A counter factor is pensions; as we know pensions are quite rare these days.

1\.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_insurance_in_the_United_...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_insurance_in_the_United_States#The_rise_of_employer-
sponsored_coverage)

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mkempe
Is this based on income before or after taxes?

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penguindev
Before.

[http://www.census.gov/prod/techdoc/cps/cpsmar12.pdf](http://www.census.gov/prod/techdoc/cps/cpsmar12.pdf)

"Data on consumer income collected in the CPS by the Census Bureau cover money
income received (exclusive of certain money receipts such as capital gains)
before payments for personal income taxes, Social Security, union dues, ..."

edit: the data source appears to be the "Table P-8. Age—People by Median
Income and Sex" (all races) here:
[http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/data/historical/people...](http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/data/historical/people/)

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mkempe
Thanks. Then a chart of income after tax would paint a worse picture of recent
times vs previous decades.

