HOPE: In Advanced Economies, Two-Thirds of Population Have Seen Incomes Stagnate, Study Shows.

Between 540 million and 580 million people in 2014 had lower or stagnant incomes than similarly situated people in 2005, according to a new study from the McKinsey Global Institute, the research arm of the global consulting firm McKinsey & Co. The finding presents a break from the trend in advanced economies during the post-World War II era when, throughout twists and turns, most families ended up improving on the standard of living of their predecessors.

“Prior to the financial crisis, all but 2% of people in the Western world ended up better off than people like them 10 years ago,” said Richard Dobbs, a McKinsey senior partner and one of the report’s authors. “But the world changes when you get a cohort of people who are no longer advancing.”

The American economy alone would be more than two trillion dollars richer than it is, had the Obama “recovery” been merely average.