Economists break earners into five quintiles.

In a study produced by the Cato Institute’s John F. Early, the former assistant commissioner for the Bureau of Labor Statistics, something strange happened to the 5th quintile (the poorest Americans) during the Obama years.

They had virtually the same spending power as the 3rd and 4th quintiles. In other words, those who weren’t working had just about as money for discretionary spending as those who were working and paying taxes a few notches up the economic chain thanks to our lavish social safety net. More…