According to official statistics released on Tuesday, despite positive employment figures, Americans witnessed an 8.8% decline in their real median after-tax income in 2022. Additionally, the poverty rate has surged.
With just one year remaining until the presidential election, the statistics published on Tuesday, September 12, by the United States Census Bureau paint a grim picture for Democratic President Joe Biden: The median pre-tax income for Americans decreased by 2.3% in 2022, amounting to $74,580 (€69,301). Compared to 2019, the last “normal” year of Donald Trump’s presidency and an all-time high, this decline represents a 4.7% drop. The primary reason behind this trend is the impact of inflation, which has been driven by the Covid-19 pandemic and the implementation of fiscal and monetary support plans. Since Biden assumed office in January 2021, prices in the US have surged by 17%. The Wall Street Journal summarized the situation with the headline, “US Incomes Fall for Third Straight Year.”
The poverty rate, after factoring in government transfers and adjusting for the cost of living in various regions of the country, has skyrocketed, increasing from 7.8% to 12.4%. Poverty, which previously affected 25.6 million Americans, now encompasses 40.9 million, with children being particularly affected as their poverty rate surged from 5.2% to 12.4%. Once again, the comparison with the Trump era is stark, as this figure exceeds the 38.3 million in 2019. The rise in the poverty rate can be attributed to the conclusion of emergency assistance programs implemented during the pandemic and the substantial increase in the cost of living.
