To the Journal editor:

Upon rereading my Saturday Letter to the Editor titled, “Back to the Future,” I found I made a mistake. I cited $52,840 as the current median family income.

This is actually the current median income for individuals. The correct median family income today is $74,009. So, contrary to what I reported, there has been a marked increase in “inflation adjusted” median family income since 1960.

What I should have pointed out is that much of this increase in “inflation adjusted” median family income is attributable to a corresponding increase in the percentage of dual and multiple income households.

Even though average real family income is higher today than it was in 1960, it now often takes the work of more members of a family to bring home a “living wage.”

Also, middle to low income single-wage-earner families still have incomes roughly comparable in purchasing power to incomes in1960.

I hope that this explanation clarifies the point I was trying to make. I apologize for the confusion.