After the longest recession since WWII, many Americans are still struggling while S&P 500 corporations are sitting on $800 billion in cash and making massive profits. Now, economists from Northeastern University have released a study that finds our sluggish economic recovery has almost solely benefited corporations. According to the study:Between the second quarter of 2009 and the fourth quarter of 2010, real national income in the U.S. increased by $528 billion. Pre-tax corporate profits by themselves had increased by $464 billion while aggregate real wages and salaries rose by only $7 billion or only 0.1%. Over this six quarter period, corporate profits captured 88% of the growth in real national income while aggregate wages and salaries accounted for only slightly more than 1% of the growth in real national income. ... The absence of any positive share of national income growth due to wages and salaries received by American workers during the current economic recovery is historically unprecedented.
For more, see Since 2009, 88 Percent of Income Growth Went to Corporate Profits, Just One Percent Went to Wages by , June 30, 2011 at Think Progress.
1 comment:
Actually this set of facts, though unfortunate, is likely an outgrowth of the growth in global markets and global manufacturing sourcing. Profits as reported are global, but employment as reported is domestic. So, they are apples and oranges. A full study would report US profits and then look at US employment. The author has an incomplete study with correlations that are incomparable. One can draw no complete conclusions from this study.
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