AMERICA All

According to two studies that I have been looking at, the majority of Americans have been victimized in a shameful manner.

A University of California at Berkeley study indicates that the average taxpaying unit claimed income of arount $40,000 in 1974 versus over $52,000 in 1984 which averages out to less than 1% per year. Both figures are adjusted for inflation thru 2006.

Meanwhile at Inflation.com website, the historical CPI using Bureau of Labor statistics and based on a 1982 baseline of 100 indicates that costs have risen by 110% for the same period of time with an average of 7.01% per year. Between 1984 and 2004, the CPI rose another 76%.

All that means is that if you earned a dollar in 1974 according to the Berkeley study you would have been making $1.12 and something that cost you a dollar in 1974 would cost $2.11 in 1984. So if you wonder why you can't control your spending it is because your income is stagnant and inflation is not.

I wonder how our leaders expect a consumer driven economy to survive with income falling so far below costs? Something must change.

Try getting a raise or a new job in the current economy if you are the average American.