By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-926320.mp3
WASHINGTON –
New U.S. Census data says median household income dropped faster in Michigan last year than anywhere else in the country. That's been the trend for the past decade.
AUDIO:
Whatever the bad news was in the numbers, usually it was a little worse for Michigan -- more families in poverty than the nation as a whole. One in four children living in poverty. Median family income fell more than 20% from 2000 to 2009 as the domestic auto industry declined.
Charles Ballard is an economist at Michigan State University. He says this kind of bad news erodes confidence that a recovery is around the corner.
"One thing that would help a lot would be for people to be confident because people who are confident invest more, they work harder, they spend more, they do a lot of things that are buoyant for the economy," he says.
While pessimism, he says, will help perpetuate a sluggish economy.
Ballard says he's also concerned that there is a growing gap between the wealthiest households and the poorest.