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Yesterday, @BEA_news released new estimates of how growth in incomes were distributed btwn 2007 and 2018. This graph shows how total growth (the entire bar in each year) was divvied up between people at different income levels (blue = 80th percentile and up) @equitablegrowth
I wrote about the first version of this product back in March when the first release came out. This is a real landmark in federal statistics: it's the first time in more than four decades that BEA has tackled inequality. https://equitablegrowth.org/new-distributional-snapshot-of-u-s-personal-income-is-a-landmark-federal-statistical-product/
This data series is still evolving, and it might take a while to receive the attention it is due, but the work BEA is doing should start to inform how we think about economic growth right now https://www.bea.gov/data/special-topics/distribution-of-personal-income
growth isn't something that everyone enjoys equally, but we often pretend that it is. "This policy will make GDP grow by X%," is a frequent refrain in political advocacy and media analysis
Depending on who you are that might not mean much to you - you might get more growth than that, or less, or none at all. This chart should inform how we think about growth as a talking point. In some years, the vast majority is captured by a small group of people.
@BEA_news's new work is paving the way for politicians, journalists, and voters to adopt a more nuanced view of how the economy is faring and what good economic stewardship looks like
