By Stephen Moore

Excerpt from the Wall Street Journal:

Real median household income—the amount earned by those in the very middle—hit $65,084 (in 2019 dollars) for the 12 months ending in July. That’s the highest level ever and a gain of $4,144, or 6.8%, since Mr. Trump took office. By comparison, during 7½ years under President Obama—starting from the end of the recession in June 2009 through January 2017—the median household income rose by only about $1,000.

These statistics were published by two former census income-research specialists with 50 years experience who now run Sentier Research, a nonpartisan research group. Sentier analyzes the Census Bureau’s monthly Current Population Survey to calculate the most up-to-date changes in median household income, which it publishes six months to a year ahead of the official annual numbers. Sentier’s advance estimates are imperfect and sure to be revised, but generally have been a reliable leading indicator. (The big rise Sentier report doesn’t account for the effect of the 2017 tax cuts, which saved the average household $1,400 in 2018, according to my colleagues at the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Data Analysis. For married couples with two children, the figure was more than $2,900.)

Sentier’s data squares with other economic trends. It explains why consumer spending has surged this year and major retailers like Lowe’s and Target report massive sales. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow had it right when he said last month that, due to fatter paychecks, families are spending and saving more at the same time.