"Between 1995 and 2004, the wealthiest 10 percent of American families saw their annual incomes rise about 40 percent, on average, from $216,000 to $302,000. In the same period, families in the middle 60 percent of the distribution scale saw their incomes rise just 20 percent, from an average of $39,000 in 1995 to an average of $46,000 in 2004"

i hate that narrative

notice the phrase form

"families in the middle 60 percent of the distribution scale saw their incomes rise "

no they didn't unless they held their relative rank more or less

in a society where income volitility is rising along with inequality

we need
longitutinal studies

this is a cross section
comparison

as it should be
if you;re only
interested in changes in income inequality

but reranking
of individual households
over time...

the fait of real households
isn't that
the major point

if a big chunk of households are on the way up
and another chunk is drifting down
because of the job retirement cycle

thats not really the same thing
as this
ligo of this dingo suggests

and of course
changes over time
in real households
net worth
not income
is proper comparative here