Medium household income rose by 5.2% last year

Median household income rose by 5.2%, from $53,700 to $56,500 between 2014 and 2015.  This is the largest single year increase the Census Bureau has ever recorded.   A rise in household income was seen across all income groups, while in fact the largest income gains went to the poorest Americans.

Justin Wolfers, a professor of economics at the University of Michigan, told the Huffington Post:  "This is a big fucking deal!"   The one downside is that people living in rural areas did not show the income rise as did those living in urban areas.

This dramatic turn-around to a rising median household income bodes well for a Clinton win.   According to Emory political science professor Alan Abramowitz's model for predicting the winner of presidential races, two of the most important predictive factors are:   the popularity of the incumbent president and the state of the nation's economy.  When they are positive, the  candidate of the party holding the White House is more likely to win.

President Obama's approval rating has just gone up another notch to 58%.   It's considered a positive indicator if it's above 50%.   And the economy is, by most measures, considered to be good -- not great,  but good enough to influence the election positively.   Low gas prices, for example.   And that was before this news about median incomes came out late yesterday.

Ralph