The Progressive Labour Party has boasted of a “dramatic increase in incomes” since they came to power.But the Opposition hit back, dismissing the statement as “spin”.The PLP highlighted income data from a Labour Force Survey issued last week.“In 2000, just two years after the PLP’s historic 1998 election, the median gross income in Bermuda stood at just $38,049. Today, the median gross income stands at $58,698. The quality of life difference that $20,000 makes is dramatic,” said Dawn Simmons, the PLP candidate taking on the Opposition’s Grant Gibbons in Paget East.“I think sometimes people forget where we were in 1998. In 1998, there was no FutureCare for our seniors, no day care for our working families and no EEZ (Economic Empowerment Zones) for our Bermudian small businesses owners. The stark number released by the Department of Statics shows just how far we’ve progressed as a people. In 2000, median income in Bermuda stood at $38,049. Today, median income stands at $58,698.”Ms Simmons added: “It’s also important to note that the Opposition’s fear-mongering about international business isn’t seen in the statistics. International business employment is up over the last two years. Businesses services are up and financial intermediation is up.“While the last few years have seen Bermuda dealing with the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression, when you take the long view, it’s clear that sure and steady progress is being made.”However, Shadow Minister Bob Richards accused the PLP of being “desperate to find a silver lining to the dark cloud of bad unemployment data”.He said: “Dawn Simmons, PLP candidate in Constituency 22, was quoted as having said ‘the quality of life difference that $20,000 makes is dramatic’. Now there’s spin for you. If you do the math, you’ll find that inflation cut that $20,000 down to very little.”According to Mr Richards: “$38,049 in 2000 had the buying power that $54,654 does today. So over the period of 12 years, median income increased in real terms by $4,043, or 7.4 percent, an average of just over half a percent per year — not a great deal at all.”Mr Richards said he agreed wholeheartedly with comments from OBA leader Craig Cannonier at a press conference where he that “people need the truth, not spin, because economic recovery can only begin with the truth”.