Americans Have Never Had It So Good
Keywords: American families, americans income, us household
American families have never earned more income than they do now, according to a longitudinal study by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics which was released on June 30 this year. The study also said that American families have never spent less on necessities or enjoyed a higher standard of living than they do right now. This leads to one inescapable conclusion: American families have never had it so good.
The Bureau labeled its report as “100 Years of U.S. Consumer Spending: Data for the Nation, New York City, and Boston,” and it marks the first time that the US Bureau of Labor Statistics has examined an entire century of data instead of just a year..
The 70-page report reveals that there is very little that has stayed the same in the last 100 years as far as Americans’ income and spending patterns are concerned. “In many ways, the only thread of commonality between U.S. households in 1901 and in 2002-03 is their geographic location,” the report said.
It listed average annual household income at $750 in year 1901, with 9.5 percent of that amount earned by children, for an average family of 4.9 people. Of this amount, 79.9 percent was spent on food, clothing and housing. By 2002-03, the average American family earned $50,301 a year and statisticians no longer mentioned children as income producers. The average household had shrunk to just 2.5 people and only 50.1 percent of the annual income was spent on food, clothing and shelter. Based on the value of the dollar in 1901, 2003 households would be earning $2,282 a year in real terms or a three-fold increase over 1901 totals.
Food was the single biggest expenditure of families in 1901, accounting for 42.5 percent of annual income. On the average, jobs paid less than 30 cents an hour, and with bacon costing 13 cents per pound, butter at 27 cents per pound and a dozen eggs for 22 cents, food in 1901 was expensive compared to today’s costs. Credit for that goes to mass production which has made food more readily available and cheaper. For example, in 2002-03, the cost of food only took up 31.1 percent of a family’s earnings.
A hundred years ago, nearly every American ate his meals at home, but by 1961, they were spending 21 percent of their food budgets on restaurants.
Meanwhile, only 19 percent of Americans owned their own homes in 1901 compared to 67 percent in 2002-03. The number of single-person households has also grown steadily from 16.8 percent in 1960 to 29.5 percent in 2002-03.
Perhaps the one area that bucks the trend is in entertainment. The average US household spent 5.4 percent of total expenses on entertainment during the Depression years of 1934-36, a figure that has actually fallen to just 5.1 percent in 2002-03.
Kadence Buchanan writes articles for yourworkexpert.com - In addition, Kadence also writes articles for letstalkaboutbusiness.com and letstalkaboutfinance.com
Previous Articles Highlighter:
Shopping For A Used Car (1)
Be sure that the levels of fluids in the car are up to par, and check the engine for any troublesome smoke or odors after you test drive the car.
Does Aura Exist In Digital Art (2)
As a multimedia artist, Mori's solo exhibitions in U.S., Italy and Japan have gained world-wide recognition, as she manages to take her playful imagery to a new level of literalness, while her dexterity and creativity with innovative technologies have resulted in spectacular forms of art.
Visit The Supermarket Well Prepared (3)
Finally, remember to choose low-fat dairy products that will not add extra pounds to your waistline and be careful when selecting dressings or any other type of processed ingredient. Refined sugar and heavy oils are always well-hidden in their substances.
Traveling Through Europe (4)
Since we had less than 48 hours available to see as much as possible, we decided to pay a visit at the Van Gogh Museum, walk the Red District by night, and of course take the tram to travel through the city and gaze its unbelievable beat.
Introduction To Business Ethics (5)
For example, in some countries it is acceptable and ethical for customs agents to receive gratuities for performing ordinary, legal tasks that are a part of jobs, whereas in other countries these practices would be viewed as unethical and perhaps illegal.
Climate Change - The Coming Crisis (6)
This occurs due to the fact that these gases tend to trap heat, and when they are released into our upper atmosphere, they trap some of the heat energy that would normally be reflected by our earth's natural processes.
Pros And Cons Of Becoming A Nurse (7)
Nurses can be considered as the contemporary community support agents since they are an essential part of every society, conducting health education, counseling and performing practices that aim to relieve patients from pain and suffering.
The Beauty Of Getting Older (8)
From entering college to receiving a retirement plan, life seems like a five minute drive in high speed. Unfortunately, although a law officer will issue anyone a speed ticket regardless of the person's age, this rapid journey through life does not provide any guarantees that at some point you will be forced to stop and smell the roses.
Understanding The Basics Of Managerial Accounting (9)
All of these companies share two common things. First, they all have a set of goals or objectives. A bank's goals might be profitability and customer service, or a hotel's goals might be total quality services and cost minimisation.
What Can I Expect To Find At A Boat Show (10)
At the Ft. Lauderdale show, touring the larger yachts may mean removing your shoes completely! Wearing boat shoes can make the process of touring boats a little easier.
Newer Articles Highlighter:
Gifts They Will Remember (1)
Children crave attention from important people in their lives, like mom, dad, grandparent, aunt, and older siblings. Spending a day with your kid, from breakfast till the afternoon shopping or movie, can be the best gift they have ever received.
The Impact Of Multinational Enterprises (2)
Even if this assumption was true, the gains in the host country might be greater or less than the losses in the home country. Thus, the argument that both the home and host country may gain from Foreign Direct Investment rests partly on the assumption that resources are not necessarily fully employed and partly on the industry specific and complementary nature of capital and technology.
Giving Your Bathroom A Makeover (3)
Options now range from modern glass and steel pieces, to old renaissance dressers and armoires. Moreover, people tend to mix and match furniture and trim their uncovered surfaces in order to make them blend with the flooring, connecting the bathroom to the rest of the house.
Go Out For A Picnic (4)
My need to find the right day and time and revive the feeling of experiencing the outdoors, while hanging out with my beloved friends and family, has made me organize picnics over the weekend at the outdoor landscape of my current residence.
Youth Leadership In Sports (5)
Some of the key traits are physic al, social background and personality traits. There is some common sense supporting the notion that effective leaders, young or older, have certain traits.
A Dog Is Invention Of The Year (6)
Snuppy's creation has come under some controversy, considering that his chief creator, Hwang Woo Suk, has been under investigation for possible fraud in his experiments. However, a thorough government investigation of Snuppy and his DNA has shown without a doubt that he is a legitimate cloned dog.
Buying Your First House (7)
Furthermore, even the interest rates of your house mortgage are kept in low levels (around 7 percent) for a fixed-rate of a 30-year loan, transforming your home loan to your least expensive one.
Simple Tips To Save Gas (8)
Discuss a schedule for changing your air filter, as this can improve mileage by up to 10%. Perhaps the simplest mileage savings comes from keeping your tires properly inflated.
Real Estate Economics At A Glance (9)
When so much is depended upon it then it should definitely get a place amongst the much pondered upon issues. Any market; whether it is a commodity market or some other markets there will always be certain forces working together to make it run.
Contemporary Art In Contemporary Households (10)
Human creativity, along with the need of expressiveness, can be present to any contemporary creation that critics would define as an artistic attempt. As Picasso, the great Hispanic painter, has once pointed out, "art is something that makes people move towards a certain direction in life, or even conceptualize things from a different perspective, which they would have never consider before, if an artful creation had not revealed its mere existence." Although people reactions against contemporary art seem to vary at some point, the underlined significance of the medium can be categorized as unanimously appreciated.