Thus, the 1980s marked the beginning of a long and steady rise in income inequality. The World Bank begins building a global database on ways to measure total wealth at the national level. Results for the indicator Annual Net Savings , also called real savings, are first published. ANS is defined as gross national savings adjusted for the annual change in the volume of all forms of capital. Why Is Income Data Often Adjusted For The Number Of People In A Household? Adjusting for inflation allows us to compare the value of currency over time in order to understand trends such as how the U.S. minimum wagehas lost purchasing powerover time and to compare thevalue of workers’ wagesacross several decades. At the Center, we often use this measure in our work on topics such as the experience ofAmericans living in poverty. The poverty line, also referred to as the poverty threshold, is identified by the federal government and used to determine eligibility each year for federal programs, such