No matter how hard you work and how many raises you bargain you still can t get ahead. Well, here are a few facts that help explain what s appening. Since 1980, the cost of college has gone up 260 percent, the cost of auto insurance is up 186 percent, the phone bill up 118 percent, haircuts are up 80 percent, new cars are up 55 percent.
Paychecks are up, too, but they haven t come anywhere near keeping up with inflation.
In other words, a big, fat pay cut. In the past 20 years the income of most middle-class families has been stuck in a rut, and the 50 million or so in the poorest fifth of the population have seen their share of personal income shrink 17 percent. But income for the cream of the cream, the top one percent, has nearly doubled. That sounds pretty good, but the fine print reveals that the richest fifth of the population has gotten 97 percent of the increase. Since 1981, when Americans were told that supply-side economics was the ticket to a new prosperity, it has been bonanza times for America s rich.