The US Census Bureau said yesterday that annual household income rose 5.2% in 2015. Compare that with the gain in BLS reported average weekly earnings through August 2016.

If median household income really rose as fast as the government said, the only way that could be is if household size increased. More adult children moved back home. More parents moved into the mother-in-law suite. And more single people shacked up.

But more people were not better off.

Welcome to the world of government statistics.