New York Times Posts Major Correction On Incomes Since 1974 (they are up slightly, not down)

Here is the link to the article. They also started with median family income, switched to household income when adjusting for inflation and then switched back to family income for 2015. See my Sept. 13 post on this.

The original passage:

"To understand the feeling of crisis that many see in higher education right now, it’s useful to start with some figures from 40 years ago. In 1974, the median American family earned just under $13,000 a year. A new home could be had for $36,000, an average new car for $4,400. Attending a four-year private college cost around $2,000 a year: affordable, with some scrimping, to even median earners. As for public university, it was a bargain at $510 a year. To put these figures in 2015 dollars, we’re talking about median household income of $62,000, a house for $174,000 and a sticker price of $21,300 for the car, $10,300 for the private university and $2,500 for the public one.

A lot has changed since then. Median family income has fallen to about $52,000,"

Now the correction (which is at the link):

"Correction: September 27, 2015  

An article on Sept. 13 about college tuition referred incorrectly to CUNY when describing a program that helped improve the graduation rates of its community colleges. It is the City University of New York (not Universities). The article also referred incorrectly to a measure of income in a comparison of 1974 income and current income when adjusted for inflation. It is median family income, which has risen to about $64,000 a year from $62,000 in 1974, not median household income. And the article also described incorrectly the change in median family income over the past 40 years. It has risen slightly, not fallen."