Monday report: Profits are up and wages are down, down, down

This chart has got to be one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. Click on it to get a clearer view. From an Economic Policy Institute report posted today, it shows how productivity is way, way up at the same time that us wage-slaves are falling behind. If all that work we’re doing is bringing in more money for our employers, doesn’t that mean we're making more money, too? Nope, the Economic Policy Institute reports.

In the snapshot report, the institute notes that while productivity and profits are up, a greater portion of the money is being funneled away from salaries. The folks who made that profit possible, in general, appear to be getting far less of the money pie than previously.

Wage growth has been shortchanged because 46% of the growth of total income in the corporate sector has been distributed as corporate profits, far more than the 20% in previous periods.

Meanwhile, the institute reports that median household income has fallen for five years in a row, more people are in debt, poverty is increasing, job creation hasn’t kept up with population growth and rising health care costs are eroding the declining income of families.