American Males Making Less Than Their Fathers

Apparently, all the robust economic gains over the past decade that I keep hearing about may not have been trickling down. Despite tremendous US economic growth, the median income for men in their 30’s, when adjusted for inflation, is about $5,000 a year LESS than it was in 1974 (35,000 compared to 40,000), according to a recent study.

The study did not address the causes of the decrease. One possibility is that the economic gains have all been concentrated at the top, driving up the mean income but dropping down the median income. The movement of high-paying blue-collar jobs overseas combined with large increases in high-paying tech jobs could be one explanation. Another is Bush’s ludicrous tax breaks and overall apathy towards the bottom half of this country.

Another possibility is that women’s incomes have gone way up over the past thirty years, leading to overall increased incomes which offset the male decreases. And lastly, many males are taking longer to enter the workforce. Back in 1970, entering the workforce and getting a good job at 18 was relatively common. Nowadays, people get started later. I didn’t enter the workforce until I was 22, and many of my friends, now at 24, have yet to enter it. There’s nothing wrong with entering the workforce late, it just means that you may not be making the big bucks until you are in your 40’s or 50’s, like my friends in Med School.