What happened with average family incomes Between 1980 and the mid-1990s?
Both in the US and Canada, average family income rose from 1980 through 1995. In Canada, average family income rose 8.%over that period. But the picture depended greatly on how poor you were at the start of the period. For the poorest 20% of the population, income declined. For the next to the last 20%, average income was unchanged, as it simple kept pace with inflation. For the top 20%, average family income daramatically increased, due largely to large capital gains from stock market and other investments.
