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Comment by sabat | Hacker News Reader

But it's both, isn't it? Fewer Americans have health coverage, fewer Americans have jobs, fewer Americans can stay in homes. What you hear people saying is that #1 implies #2.

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Apart from short term fluctuations during the recession, more Americans own homes and health insurance coverage is roughly the same as it ever was.

http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/USHOWN

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:U.S._Uninsured_and_Uninsur...

What you call "fluctuations" most of us call a downward trend. And the fact that you think that it's "same as it ever was" is somehow a positive thing is somewhat disturbing.

I made no claim that anything is positive or negative, I merely pointed out that you are factually wrong on two of your points.

At a most basic level over the period relative wages for the poor haven't moved a lot but the absolute basics such as food and clothing prices have come down a heap.

What proportion of a person's wage does he spend on e.g. entertainment vs. food and clothing now compared to 40 years ago?

Food 2009: 13% of total expenditure, compared to 15% in 1984

http://www.bls.gov/cex/csxstnd.htm#1984

Sure, it might if you show the data that proves it.

But showing the data that the top has increased their % share of the wealth does not prove that.

It hurts people's innate sense of fairness though. When you see the people who manufactured the crises repleting their losses with money from middle and working class american's it is upsetting and does indicate the system has problems.

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