Spending dropped by the largest amount in four years while incomes suffered because of Hurricane Ike, the government reported.

Spending dropped by the largest amount in four years while incomes suffered because of Hurricane Ike, the government reported.

The next stage of the downturn is likely to revolve around the worst slump in worker pay since the Great Depression.

The next stage of the downturn is likely to revolve around the worst slump in worker pay since the Great Depression.

Why income inequality is destroying the G.O.P. base.

Without much fanfare or public notice, Senator Barack Obama has embraced a central element of the Republican agenda: the treatment of corporate dividends.

The G.D.P. is all well and good, but as a stand-in gauge for the nation’s overall well-being, this supernumber is less than perfect.

Gross income rose 1.2 percent in 2006 dollars compared to 2000, the time when the last economic expansion ended, the latest tax data show.

Gross income rose 1.2 percent in 2006 dollars compared to 2000, the time when the last economic expansion ended, the latest tax data show.

Americans enjoyed higher average income in 2006 for the first time since 2000, when the last economic expansion ended, the latest tax data show.