Volume 53, Number 1 · January 12, 2006
The Way to a Fair Deal
By Jeff Madrick
The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth
by Benjamin M. Friedman
Knopf, 570 pp., $35.00
Between 1973 and 1993, the standard of living for average Americans rose more slowly than in any previous twenty-year period since the Civil War. Although the economy grew, the benefits of this growth were largely enjoyed by the rich. Average wages and salaries grew because the earnings of those belonging to the highest income categories increased rapidly. But there was not a commensurate gain in median family income—the level at which half of American families earn more and half less, and probably the best overall measure of the standard of living. In fact, median family income rose only slightly over these years, and it did so largely because of the rapid increase in two-income households.
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