While it is good news that the poverty rate declined and median household income increased compared to last year, when these numbers are compared to the bottom of the 2001 recession, the joy is somewhat tempered. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has released a statement on the 2006 Poverty, Income, and Health Insurance figures highlighting the uneven distribution of gains of the current economic recovery.

Paul Krugman's good column on SCHIP today has a paragraph that is worth examining.

Because of the copious amount of media attention the July 23rd minimum wage hike has received, it's possible you missed - what we here at the Budget Blog consider the best reporting on the subject to date - The Onion's coverage: WASHINGTON, DC—Two weeks after the hourly federal minimum wage was raised from $5.15 to $5.85, families across the country were still celebrating the historic increase by running their electric fans, buying coveted half-gallons of milk, and, like Charice Williams of Shreveport, LA, purchasing name-brand ketchup to share with loved ones.

The always-edifying David Cay Johnston writes about the latest income data from IRS: Americans earned a smaller average income in 2005 than in 2000, the fifth consecutive year that they had to make ends meet with less money than at the peak of the last economic expansion, new government data shows.