One of the major markers of a constrained U.S. economy has been the lack of income advancement for its workers. But that's changing for the better.

New data released Sept. 13 by the U.S. Census Bureau "show that, at long last, American households are seeing their incomes rise after the Great Recession," said the Center for American Progress.   In 2015, federal statistics show the median household income rose by an outstanding 5.2 percent to $56,516, a much-needed boost after three years of statistically insignificant changes.

From 1984 to 1999, median household income, adjusted for inflation, rose from $48,664 to $57,843 - a 19 percent increase over 15 years. Then, over the next 15 years, median income declined by 7 percent.

"Decades of declining worker power, challenges from globalization, and increasing levels of market concentration have all contributed to the weakening of the middle class," says the Center for American Progress. "Had the share of national income accruing to the middle 60 percent remained at 1968 levels, the average middle-class family would have earned about $9,900 more in 2015."

For one year, at least, the trend of the top tier of income earners getting the greatest percentage of income increase was flipped. In 2015, the new data show that households at all income levels have seen solid growth since 2014. In fact, the households in the lowest quintile by income saw their incomes grow by the largest share in 2015: 6.6 percent. Households in the middle 60 percent experienced 4.8 percent annual growth, while incomes for the top 20 percent rose by 4.2 percent since 2014.

Straight-ticket

voting preserved

Of course candidates' names will change from years past, but the ability to do straight ticket voting will remain on Michigan's ballots for the Nov. 8 general election.

On Sept. 9 the U.S. Supreme Court refused to let Michigan enforce a ban on casting straight-ticket ballots, declining to rule on the case after lower courts found the prohibition was likely to discriminate against African Americans and result in long lines at the polls. Urban areas are notorious for having fewer voting booths at the polls, and Michigan does not allow early no-reason voting.

The Republican-dominated Michigan Legislature adopted a law last December that banned straight-party voting, which allows voters to cast a vote for all the candidates of a party by marking a single bubble on the ballot. Proponents said it would encourage voters to do more research before heading to the polls, while Democrat detractors said the measure was clearly an attempt by the state GOP to win more elections and nullify the will of the people. Michigan has had the option for straight-ticket balloting for more than a century, and twice state voters have upheld the practice.