Senator Bernie Sanders falsely claimed in his closing remarks in the Democratic debate that half of the country was earning just $9 to $10 an hour. Claim: "How does it happen in the richest country in the history of the world that half of our people are living paycheck to paycheck, trying to get by on nine to ten bucks an hour?" Facts: A forty-hour workweek at $10 dollars per hour would equal an annual income of $20,800. In fact, the median household income in the United States was $63,179. By definition, this means that half of American households earn more than this and half earn less. But it also means that half of American incomes cannot be as low as $20,800.