Is the standard of living of poor & middle class people higher than in the past?

Answer 1

US GDP per capita in constant dollars (one of the indicators of standard of living) has grown in the last decades. However, the benefits of that growth have not reached everybody in the same way.

Income inequality has increased in the US, as measured by the Gini Index.

There are several studies that explain the reasons of income inequality. I suggest that you visit the following websites:

* Pew Center: https://www.pewresearch.org/topics/income-inequality/

* Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: https://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/a-guide-to-statistics-on-historical-trends-in-income-inequality

* US Census Bureau: https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/income-inequality.html

* OECD: https://data.oecd.org/inequality/income-inequality.htm

 Poverty is not worse. The poverty rate dropped consistently every year from 2015 to 2017 — a total of 2.5 percentage points — to a rate of 12.3 percent in 2017.

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