Is this the Decade of Decline?
I’m going to keep this simple and let these pictures do much
of the talking.
Normally after a recession, there is a rebound. But after this last recession the U.S. has not been so fortunate. Unemployment, median income, insurance rates,
housing, Gross Domestic Product (the sign of economic strength) are all
sluggish if not declining.
As a result, promises by politicians and economists could be
better viewed as entertainment and not reality. Here is reality:
Unemployment – Summary: There has been a bumpy positive road to new jobs; however, the majority of those jobs are coming
from lower-wage occupations.
Median
Income - Summary: The average U.S.
family makes less than it did 20 years ago.
Housing – Summary: Housing sales haven’t seen it this bad
for decades and affordability is in decline. The first is new home sales, the second is an affordability index.
GDP – Summary: real GDP is trending downward.
In the next graph, pay particular attention to the dotted
line (real GDP growth).
As a result, there has been an anemic recovery at best. The rich have been getting richer and the poor
have been getting poorer and a hollowing out has occurred in the middle. Shame on those who are in power.
I've noted in previous post http://www.garyriedl.com/2012/09/and-for-his-next-trick.html that jobs are a sign of a recovery (not low wage jobs). The Federal Reserve has been pumping billions of dollars per month into the economy as a way of propping it up from its wobbly foundation. It can't continue indefinitely. But when it stops, the U.S. has got to be in better condition to recover.
I've noted in previous post http://www.garyriedl.com/2012/09/and-for-his-next-trick.html that jobs are a sign of a recovery (not low wage jobs). The Federal Reserve has been pumping billions of dollars per month into the economy as a way of propping it up from its wobbly foundation. It can't continue indefinitely. But when it stops, the U.S. has got to be in better condition to recover.
So for all you people who voted for the last
decade of economic policies, I recommend some serious introspection. It may be that many had good intentions, but these good intentions allowed the rich to become the greatest beneficiaries in the last several years at the suffering of the middle class and poor.
The links below include the sources for the images above.
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