Vice-President Biden Misses a Chance to Help the Middle Class
Rea Hederman /
Vice-President Biden recently released the report of his task force on how to help the middle class. While there are a few excellent recommendations, most of the report focuses on failed policy prescriptions of the past. An early indication on the biased nature of the report is the early admission that labor unions contributed heavily to the writing of the report, while business input is sparse in comparison.
The report claims that middle class income has been stagnant since the 1970’s, and middle class families need the hand of government to get ahead. The report plays fast and loose with the numbers as its focuses on families hides the rise of single-parent families. While the report correctly focuses on the rise of single parents contributing to income inequality, the report does not compare a middle class married family with a single parent family. Married couples have moved steadily up the economic ladder.
The report also focuses on wage income, while ignoring the fact that benefits such as retirement and health have been quickly increasing. Evidence omitted from the report shows that overall compensation, which includes all benefits, closely tracks productivity, both having roughly doubled over the past forty years. Since 1970, wages have grown 94 percent while productivity has grown 120 percent. (more…)