WASHINGTON — The income of Americans soared in May because of the government’s economic stimulus….
Disposable personal income in May — income after taxes — jumped 1.6%, driven by the aid package President Barack Obama signed in February to spur the economy….
It’s even dumber than you’re letting on.
Remember how the stimulus bill contained a $500 tax rebate similar to what Bush pushed through, only instead of getting it all at once they were going to do it over the course of a year via a reduction in the payroll tax? That just started, and if you do the math the stimulus payment comes to 1.6% of a little over $31k, or roughly average personal income after taxes.
So the administration’s basically touting the results of an accounting gimmick as genuine recovery; wonder if they’ll also take credit for the drop when it expires? Also, it looks like the article’s claiming the personal savings rate jumped 1.4%, not 1.6%. It’s quite likely the ‘actual’ rate is flat against previous months’ 0.3%, or even negative. Par for the course with this administration, unfortunately.