Notwithstanding the data just cited, several forces have either increased income inequality in the United States or given the appearance of such an increase, so it is best to be clear about these. Consider first that a rising proportion of the population is far above the poverty line.
Since 1990, the number of people receiving disability payments from the SSA has more than tripled to over eight million—perhaps not surprising when you consider that the real value of the monthly benefits a person can collect has risen almost 60 percent in the past thirty-five years. The federal government now spends more on disability …
It is also worth noting that some, perhaps many, of the departures from the labor force by low-skill individuals may actually be prompted by certain government programs. We refer here to a portion of the Social Security program that has expanded dramatically over the past 20 years. It involves disability payments. Originally established in 1956 …
There were even large numbers of students who left school to take high-paying jobs in the technology sector. The onset of the 2001 recession produced a turnaround in all of those statistics. The number of unemployed rose by about 2.5 million individuals. The number of part-time workers who indicated that they would like to work …
Certain individuals, after spending some time in the pool of the unemployed, may become discouraged about their future job prospects. They may leave the labor market to go back to school, to retire, to work full-time at home without pay, or just to take some time off. Whichever path they choose, when interviewers from the …
After adjusting for people who were actually working but were counted as unemployed, he found a maximum unemployment rate of 17 percent. This number is still the highest we have had in modern times, but it is certainly not one-fourth of the labor force. How much sense does Darby’s adjustment make? The argument against the …