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...Decline of unions, offshoring jobs contribute to losses (From Page 1) ices in eight major groups, including food, hous- ing, clothing, transportation and health care.] In effect, last year 37 million Americans were living on less than $5,000 to $10,000 per person. At the federal minimum wage of $5.15 an hour, a year-round full-time (40 hours a week) worker would earn $10,712 — enough to escape poverty only if he or she had no dependents. Income Up, By Some Measures The U.S. Census Bureau reported that infla- tion-adjusted median household income rose 1.1 percent between 2004 and 2005, reaching $46,326. It was the first year since 1999 in which real median household income showed an annual increase. [Median means midpoint, so half the households earned more, and half less.] Oregon’s median was $43,262, while Wash- ington’s was $49,262. Black households had the lowest median in- come in 2005 ($30,858) among race groups. Asian households had the highest median in- come ($61,094). The median income for non- Hispanic white households was $50,784. Me- dian income for Hispanic households was $35,967. For those who believe in equal pay for equal work, the good news is women are getting equality in the workplace. The bad news is that it’s because men’s wages are falling faster than women’s, said the EPI. Real median earnings of males age 15 and older who worked full-time year-round declined 1.8 percent between 2004 and 2005, to $41,386. Women with similar work experience saw their earnings decline by 1.3 percent, to $31,858. Women now earn 77 cents on the dollar compared to men. The wage gap increased from 2002 to 2003, but shrunk over the last two years. Of course, many workers’ experience can be different than the overall trend. Most workers’ earnings grow over their lifetime as they age and TABLE 1.7 Median family income by age of householder, 1947-2004 (2004 dollars) gain experience, even though workers as a group, by education or occupation, might have 45-54 compared lost ground. The EPI report illustrates this. to 25-34 Workers entering the workforce today generally Year Under 25 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 Over 65 relative incomes start at a lower point and advance more slowly than their predecessors did, the report says: “In 1979 $31,370 $46,552 $55,247 $60,999 $52,838 $27,298 1.31 1970, a 50-to-54-year-old worker with some col- 1989 25,103 45,418 59,142 67,820 55,377 33,958 1.49 lege (but not a degree) earned about $48,000 per 1995 23,086 44,336 57,269 67,734 55,714 34,835 1.53 year (in 2005 dollars) and a 20-24 year-old en- 2000 29,568 49,769 63,715 74,415 60,816 36,582 1.50 tering the workforce that year was paid about 2004 26,451 46,878 62,121 71,002 62,176 35,825 1.51 $23,000. But by 2000, when that same young worker reached the age of 50-54, his annual Annual growth rate wage was just under $44,000 — substantially 1979-89 -2.2% -0.2% 0.7% 1.1% 0.5% 2.2% 1.3% higher than his entry-level earnings but some 1989-2000 1.5 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.7 0.0 $4,000 per year less than a similarly educated 1995-2000 5.1 2.3 2.2 1.9 1.8 1.0 -0.4 person in his parents’ generation 30 years ear- 2000-04 -2.7 -1.5 -0.6 -1.2 0.6 -0.5 0.3 lier.” Source: Authors’ analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. “Another view yields the same conclusion: Starting wages (in 2005 dollars) for two differ- ent groups of workers (high school-educated workers and those with some college but not a degree) peaked in 1970 at $30,903 and $33,550, respectively, and in 2000, despite ups and downs, still re- TABLE 3 Income inequality in the late 1990s vs. the early 2000s mained below that peak (at $25,944 and $29,180).” Top 10% In recent times, economics has be- Next 5% Next 4% Next 0.5% Next 0.4% Next 0.09% Top 0.01% come a truly dismal science for working people in America. Most in- Bottom 90% 90th-95th 95th-99th 99th-99.5th 99.5th-99.9th 99.9th-99.99th 99.99th-100th dicators of shared prosperity are 1995-2000 12.5% 15.0% 25.1% 37.9% 52.4% 92.7% 156.0% down. But then, the state of owning 2001 -2.0 -3.0 -6.7 -10.9 -15.8 -25.2 -32.1 America, a.k.a. the ownership soci- 2002 -3.4 -2.8 -4.7 -6.8 -9.2 -14.7 -19.4 ety, is doing quite well. 2003 -1.9 -0.5 -0.4 0.2 1.2 3.5 10.4 EPI says the decline of unions, the 2004 1.4 2.6 4.7 10.0 12.5 17.8 27.5 rise of offshoring jobs, the changes in tax policy, and the freeze in the fed- Source: Piketty and Saez (2006). eral minimum wage have contributed to this inequality. All of those factors are political, and reversible. Uninsured increase in number According to an August U.S. Census Report, the number of Americans with health insurance coverage increased by 1.4 million to 247.3 million between 2004 and 2005, but the number without such coverage also rose by 1.3 million to 46.6 million (from 15.6 percent in 2004 to 15.9 percent in 2005). The proportion and number of uninsured children increased between 2004 and 2005, from 10.8 percent to 11.2 percent and from 7.9 million to 8.3 million, respectively. Swanson, Thomas &Coon ATTORNEYS AT LAW Since 1981 James Coon Q Quest Investment Management, Inc. • Serving Multi-Employer Mult-Employer Serving Trusts Twenty Years Trusts for for Over Twenty Years Jacqueline Jacobson Ray Thomas Kimberly Tucker Margaret Weddell Cynthia F. 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CALL US or VISIT OUR WEB SITE ( 503) 228-5222 http://www.stc-law.com www.QuestInvestment.com www.QuestInvestment.com SEPTEMBER 15, 2006 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS PAGE 7
