Wonkbook: The 99 percent just had its best year in nearly two decades

Sponsored by American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network | By Jim Tankersley The vast majority of American workers are finally seeing their incomes rise from the depths of the Great Recession, a new analysis from one of the world's leading scholars of economic inequality suggests. But incomes for the top 1 percent continue to rise substantially faster. The analysis of Internal Revenue Service data on …   The latest economic and domestic policy from Wonkblog   Delegates watch as President Bill Clinton addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte on Sept. 5, 2012. (AP/Jae C. Hong) By Jim Tankersley The vast majority of American workers are finally seeing their incomes rise from the depths of the Great Recession, a new analysis from one of the world's leading scholars of economic inequality suggests. But incomes for the top 1 percent continue to rise substantially faster. The analysis of Internal Revenue Service data on pre-tax earnings, from UC-Berkeley economist Emmanuel Saez and published by the Washington Center for Equitable Growth think tank, finds incomes increased by 3.9 percent last year for the bottom 99 percent of U.S. families. That's the strongest growth those workers have seen since 1998, but it's still not enough to repair all the damage the recession wrought on those workers: As Saez notes, those families on average have only regained two-thirds of the income they lost during and after the financial crisis. Read the rest on Wonkblog.   Chart of the day The crisis over immigration in Europe will continue for decades to come. Max Ehrenfreund has more. Top policy tweets "To join the EU, an independent Scotland would have to endure Greek levels of austerity https://t.co/KKPPRBLOTa" -- @reihan "The ozone hole over Antarctica is healing. Here's @fayeflam on what that means for the climate debate https://t.co/BeHeW6ZHdq" -- @cflav "Trump's agenda is so fraudulent that it has actually united big business and big labor against it https://t.co/qx4UITwOJW" -- @ThePlumLineGS ADVERTISEMENT   Most Recent Posts from Wonkblog The group that seriously outearns white men The wage gap(s) persist. By Danielle Paquette  •  Read more »   The interesting thing that happens when a Republican marries a Democrat Marrying someone from the other party can have a powerful effect on you. By Ana Swanson  •  Read more »   The 99 percent just had its best year in nearly two decades New data suggest the bottom 99 percent of U.S. families saw incomes rise by nearly 4 percent in 2015. By Jim Tankersley  •  Read more »   The incredibly stupid thing thousands of people will do this weekend An American tradition. By Christopher Ingraham  •  Read more »   Europe’s immigration crisis is just beginning Politics in the United States and the United Kingdom are in chaos, and things are just getting started. By Max Ehrenfreund  •  Read more »   Why this ‘horrible’ idea for how to legalize pot could be worth voting for Leading pot expert calls California's legalization bill 'horrible,' says he'd vote for it anyway By Christopher Ingraham  •  Read more »   What happens when we all become our own bosses Can 'sharing economy' jobs really be good jobs? By Emily Badger  •  Read more »   Income inequality today may be higher today than in any other era Here's the truth about about how America became so unequal By Jeff Guo  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Doctors received $6.5 billion from drug and device companies in 2015 Critics say these payments are powerful marketing tools that can distort the use of health care. By Carolyn Y. Johnson  •  Read more »   A top British official’s ominous warning has sent the pound back down again Things aren't looking good for the British economy. By Max Ehrenfreund  •  Read more »   Planned Parenthood announces it will fight abortion laws in eight states after Supreme Court ruling Here comes the next national battle over abortion restrictions By Danielle Paquette  •  Read more »           Share Wonkbook:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you signed up for a Wonkblog newsletter. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. Contact us for help. ©2016 The Washington Post, 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071