Socio-Economic rift in the United States Widening - Analysis please?

Question

Draw your own conclusion based on the following factual data:
Using these premises:
Medians are used to be resistant to skewed data (unproportionate data), means are not resistant, they show that there is some disproportionality according to how much they differ from the median.
In 1975 the median household income was:
$11,800
The mean was $13,779.

In 2006 the median was $48,201
and the mean was $66,570


Simple computation gives us
1975: 13779/11800 = the mean is 16% larger than the median.

2006: 66570/48201 = the mean is 38% larger than the median.
source of data: http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/histinc/h06ar.html
What do you think?

Answer 1

Three or more points of consideration with equidistant dates would be far more accurate and telling.

Picking two dates in the way you have is less suggestive.

I suggest repost with ten, fifteen, or twenty year increments.

Good idea (no, I am not suggesting you're are trying to skew the data. I have no idea, therefore it would be rude of me to suggest such just to argue a point in such a careless way. Please repost with more useful data, and compliments on the excellent work otherwise).

Answer 2

Just using income doesn't tell enough of the story either. But you asked what I think.
That if you want to make sure that you make more than the median, then work a little harder.
The rift in this country is due to behavioral choices by those who's income is near or below the median income.
This kind of B.S. cherry picking of statistics is a trick of the left to fool enough people that there is an inherent economic inequality in capitalism/free markets. Unfortunately there are enough people that swallow this "garbage" statistical twisting, and actually believe it.
If you want to live at or above the median, it is very simple to do. It is not easy, nor should it.'
The reason the mean grew by so much in 30 years, is because of the number of persons that grew up middle class, and worked their way up the the upper class. The key here is worked.
And remember, the census department is made up of the same type of people that seek employment through out the rest of the federal government, meaning the rejects of the producers in the U.S. Meaning, that they tend to interpret the data, and interject their beliefs in to the results.

In summary, I almost automatically discount all economic figures put out by the government.

Answer 3

Unfortunately this is how America works, living off credit. Credit cards are ruining society and the interests are keeping people down.

I blame education, students are not thought how to micro manage their money and seeing how the government just borrows gives bad examples. Once they are shipped off to college which already puts them into debt, credit card companies recruit their new stogies.

People are living beyond their means and are slaves to the credit card companies.

Answer 4

That tells me that wages gaps between what women and men make are finally closing, so the mean is going up.