OBOOMA:

According to the latest figures, median household income increased at its fastest clip ever in 2015, jumping by some 5.2% -- about back to where it was before the recession began and only a couple of percentage points lower than its 1999 peak. (And the 1999 number was inflated by an economic bubble that burst.)

As Justin Wolfers, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, tweeted: "The income gains were broadly distributed, including every demographic, age region and gender, and were stronger for the poor than the rich."

But that's not all: 3.5 million Americans rose out of poverty, while the poverty rate declined more than it had since 1968, including big declines for Hispanics, black people, children and young adults. Meanwhile, the number of Americans with year-round, full-time jobs is at its highest level ever, the unemployment rate sits at 4.9% (in 2012, Mitt Romney pledged to get it down to 6%), we are in the midst of the longest monthly job creation streak ever, and the stock market has set new records in recent weeks.

The numbers showing the economy has continued to improve may get more headlines, but we shouldn't overlook some of the real social gains, too. Not least among these is a teen pregnancy rate that is at a historic low, a black graduation rate at an all-time high, gay people can marry and serve openly in the US military, and the achievement gap between the rich and poor, and between white people and those of color, has been closing.

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