I’ve been looking into economics recently as a way to understand wealth inequality, and I read something that just doesn’t make sense to me.
[https://www.thebalance.com/income-per-capita-calculation-and-u-s-statistics-3305852](https://www.thebalance.com/income-per-capita-calculation-and-u-s-statistics-3305852)
This source says that the 2018 nominal median income per capita was $33,706. It also says that in 1967, the national median income per capita was $2,464,but that would be equivalent to $18,261 in 2018 dollars. That’s roughly half of what our actual per capita income is.
From what I understand, the 1967 economy was doing fairly well, and throughout the 60s the economy was growing. So why is it that now, despite making twice what would expected if you just looked at inflation, people feel like the economy is really bad for the individual and that people aren’t earning enough money?
In: Economics
Income is only half the story. You can’t forget expenditure. Even if incomes have grown, if the price of essential goods and services grows faster then consumers are in a net negative position compared to the 60s.
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