When Jamie Dimon Says Sell Bitcoin, You Should Probably Buy Bitcoin

Wed Sep 13 2017
Julie Young (584 articles)
When Jamie Dimon Says Sell Bitcoin, You Should Probably Buy Bitcoin

There’s good news on three primary U.S. economic benchmarks: the poverty rate, income level and number of people covered by health insurance.

The Census Bureau reports the incomes of middle-class Americans rose last year to the highest levels ever recorded, as the scars of the Great Recessions continues to fade.

Median household income rose to $ 59,039 in 2016, a 3.2% increase from 2016 and the 2nd year of solid gains. Also reported by the Census Bureau, the nations poverty rate fell to 12.7%, returning to where it was in 2007 before the financial crisis destroyed the economy.

According to WaPo:

The new data, along with another census report showing the rate of Americans lacking health insurance to be at its lowest ever last year, suggest that Americans were actually in a position of increasing financial strength as President Trump, who tapped into anger about the economy, took office this year.

Yet the census report also points to the sources of deeper anxieties among American workers and underscores threats to continued economic progress.

Middle-class income is finally higher than it was back in 1999, something most economists were fearful would not happen.

Here is a visual look at the numbers:

In fact, “that’s the highest median income ever recorded, but the Census Bureau cautions that a big change in its survey in 2014 makes historic comparisons very difficult,” NPR’s John Ydstie reports. “We’re essentially back to about the same levels as 2007, just before the Great Recession.”

These are numbers from the final year of the Obama administration. It’s worth noting that the Census Bureau does not explicitly chalk up the strong figures to any particular policy, as John reports:

“What it did say was that increased employment is what’s driving these numbers. As more Americans find jobs, or move to full-time work from part-time work, households see their incomes rise.”

Salary increases aren’t driving the increase, Renwick emphasizes: “Median earnings for full-time year-round workers was flat relative to last year.”

The poverty rate is back to pre-recession levels. The Census Bureau says that last year, 12.7 percent of the nation lived in poverty — a 0.8 decrease from the previous year. That means 2.5 million people are no longer in poverty.

Almost all demographic groups saw improvement in poverty figures. In fact, according to the Census Bureau, adults age 65 and older were the only group that recorded more people living in poverty in 2016.

Income improvement was also wide-ranging across demographic groups, as John reported.

“The income increases were broadly based across the income ladder and among different ethnic groups, though the gains were less strong at the bottom than at the top,” he says. “Of course, there continue to be big discrepancies in the level of income, and a measure of income inequality in the data did not improve.”

 

Julie Young

Julie Young

Julie Young is a Senior Market Reporter and Analyst. She has been covering stock markets for many years.