Jared Bernstein Families Quotations

We've seen we can drive the economy at 4 percent unemployment with strong productivity gains. I won't be satisfied until we're back there. Many working families won't be either, I'd guess.

will make it harder for working families to truly get ahead.

Unless working families can give up food and gas, this combination of slow wage growth and faster inflation continues to pinch.

The problem isn't simply that families are facing higher prices, particularly at the pump. It's also that they're facing lower wages. If wages were keeping pace with inflation, the pinch wouldn't be as hard.

Folks at the top of the income scale definitely notice when they're paying $3.50 a gallon for gasoline. But for them, that doesn't necessarily mean they are going to have to cut back elsewhere, ... Younger families have lower incomes.

The economy looks pretty snappy from 30,000 feet, but when you get down and look at how actual working families are doing, they're falling behind year after year.