Author Archives: Lorraine Black

Some economists and policymakers are currently discussing what they call the “family deficit”. The amount of married couples in America is on the decline, and is having varied economic impacts on varied groups. In 1960, only 12 percent of Americans aged 25 to 34 had never married. In 2010, 47 percent of Americans aged 25 to 34 had never married. Social pressures regarding marriage have lessened since the 1960’s, with the lessening stigma of divorce and birth control becoming more accessible. Large amounts of women began to enter the workforce, those in unsuccessful relationships were able to leave and seek out new ones, and Americans on Continue reading The Family Deficit→

Despite the vilification of the “1%”, occupation of financial centers like Wall Street and the visibly widening income gap, many Americans don’t actually know how severe the United States’ economic inequality is. In fact, those surveyed for Michael Norton’s (Harvard Business School) new study on public opinion of executive pay grossly underestimated the pay gap between the average worker and CEOs. According to the AFL-CIO, the average American worker makes about $34,000 a year, while the average CEO earns more than $12 million. For a better understanding of such a disparity, the average American worker makes about .28% of what the average Continue reading Americans Underestimate Economic Inequality and the Pay Gap→