Its quite the theme. Here's the latest from the Atlantic. They point to a study showing again that family incomes have dropped over the past 35 years and point out the impact this is likely to have on children:
"Think of lining up every single child in the country by their family's earnings and look at the 50th percentile. That child is being raised in family that has seen no income growth in the last 35 years. And every child behind him has seen income declines," said Michael Greenstone, director of the Hamilton Project.
That striking statement can be summed up in this graph that shows real family earnings falling by more than a fifth for families in the 15th percentile, even as family fortunes have nearly doubled for the 99th percentile since 1975.
This isn't just a story about parents' falling fortunes. It is, in fact, all about the kids. "Our parents' education levels and employment situation have implications that extend far into adulthood," Greenstone and Adam Looney write in a report shared exclusively with The Atlantic that will go live on the Hamilton Project site later today. For example, the best indicator for whether a teenager goes on to college is that his parents went to college.
