Hey, in case you thought our Congress was in the grips of partisan bickering while the country grapples with high fuel prices, Iraq, tanking economy, etc. - not to worry. The NYT tells us that the "House voted Tuesday to designate National Watermelon Month and National Funeral Director and Mortician Recognition Day."

Awesome.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released data this morning that points to slower wage growth in the U.S., which coupled with higher prices due to inflation means sinking real earnings for most American workers. This continues the trend of increasing income inequality in the U.S.

Economic Policy Institute has analyzed the relative change in incomes for different income groups from 1979 to 2005. During this period, after-tax income grew by 6.3 percent for the poorest households, 21 percent for middle income households, and 80 percent for the top. The very top, or highest 1 percent of earners in the U.S., saw their income grow by 228 percent during this period.

In "American Inequality and Its Consequences," Gary Burtless of The Brookings Institution and Christopher Jencks of Harvard University report:


According to the American Political Science Association’s Task Force on Inequality and Democracy:


Coincidence?