If the unemployment rate is really 5.1%, where it was in 2007, why is the numbers of Americans living in poverty 25% higher than it was in 2007 and is higher than it was during the depths of the recession in 2009/2010? I thought Obamacare was going to pull 20 million people out of poverty. I thought stimulus programs, saving Wall Street banks, subprime auto loans, educating our youth with unlimited student loans, QE, and ZIRP were supposed to help the poor. Why isn’t Obama tweeting about the poverty rate and number of people on food stamps?
Obama has been an epic failure in helping the very people who vote for him at 95% levels. Luckily for him, they are too stupid to realize how badly he has fucked them over.
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/16/2015 11:45 -0400
At this moment, president Obama is taking to the Business Roundtable where as noted previously he will discuss “the turnarounds in the stock market, housing iprices [sic?] and job growth.”
In other words: helping wealth inequality hit record levels, permitting Chinese and other offshore “investors” to push high-end US real estate prices to never before seen levels, while everyone else “benefits” from record jobs for bartenders and waiters.
As for the stock market, other socialist leaders will laugh at Obama’s puny returns.
Obama: Stocks have doubled since 2009
Maduro: Stocks are up 44,584% since 2009
That said, here are some things Obama will not discuss.
According to the just released Census Bureau annual report on Income and Poverty, in 2014 the official poverty rate was 14.8% as a result of a record 46.7 million Americans living in poverty. This is the fifth consecutive year since the end of the recession that the number of impoverished Americans has barely not budged. What recovery?
Worse, while there was no material change for the percentage of Americans in poverty, there was a statistical increase in the number of people in poverty who had at least a bachelor’s degree (rising from 3 million to 3.4 million in one year) and married-couple families. Because through higher education and debt, to poverty.
The people living in extreme poverty, i.e. below 50% of the poverty minimum, also rose to an all time high of 20.8 million.
Of the 91 million Americans who were out of the labor force in 2014 and otherwise did not work, a record 24.2% or 22 million, lived in poverty.
But the most damning fact about the total failure of the US recovery, and one thing Obama will certainly not mention, is that the median real household income, after posting a modest increase in 2013 to $54,462, dropped once again, sliding 1.5% in 2014 to $53,657 and down from a high of $57,843 record in 1999.
This was nearly the same as the $53,306 median household income recorded in… 1989.
So all those talking about Japan’s lost three decades, perhaps it is time to mention America’s lost 25 years…
Every chart is going the wrong way. F#@& Hope, it don’t put no beans on the table: Vote for Change.
The typical household makes less than it did before the recession
By Steve Goldstein
Declining living standards may explain rise of political outsiders such as Trump and Sanders
The typical American household, six years after the Great Recession, is still worse off, according to a report released Wednesday.
The Census Bureau reported that median household income was $53,657 in 2014. That’s less than the 2013 median of $54,462, but not statistically different. What is of significance is that, when adjusted for inflation, the median household generated 6.5% less than they did in 2007, the year before the recession.
The declining living standards of the average American goes some way to explain why outsiders like Donald Trump and Ben Carson on the right, and Sen. Bernie Sanders on the left, are shooting up the polls for the presidential nomination.
Monthly statistics produced by Sentier Research shows a somewhat better picture — by their numbers, the median household income in July was $55,218, though that’s still 2.6% lower than when the recession started and 3.8% below January 2000 levels.
The Census Bureau report also says that households with lower levels of education were more likely to remain in or move into a lower quintile than households with higher levels of education.
Obamanomics
And, if you think about it, this covers just the “Americans” living in poverty, etc. In 2014 alone, that was an additional 11.3 million people (not necessarily adults / of working age). But you can bet a huge chunk of them fall under the radar when these statistics are compiled, even while they’re participating in government programs that target poverty.
These people aren’t living in poverty. They get Section 8, SNAP, Obama phones, medicaid, public assistance, earned income tax refunds (even when they pay no tax), social services, on and on and on.
Thanks to us.
WINNING!!!!
[img
[/img]
I guess the gold standard mattered to some people.
[img
[/img]
Dutchman- I’m with you !
Our FSA lives better that 90% of the people on this planet and they don’t turn a hand. No wonder people are flocking here to get in on the “good life” and take a vacation from work and worry.
Vast majority of FSA have one or more cars, live in nice modern structures with all the conveniences, have more than one TV, cable, internet etc and if they get sick (no worries) Uncle Sugar pays the bill.
Hey, where can I sign up?
Admin- One of the reasons I keep reading the articles here is I hope to one day be as smart as the Asians so I too can earn the extra 14K per year as illustrated in your (1:29) chart. Keep the info rolling in to make us moar smarter. Thanks
Bea
The single biggest reason Asian household income is so high, is because they don’t get divorced. This is the same reason Asian kids do so well on the SAT scores. Married couple families make more money and raise smarter kids. It’s not rocket science.
[img
.cms[/img]
^ Those are highly depressionary charts. You could add the electricity generation and vehical miles traveled charts. Those are just downright ugly on a 30-50 year timescale. They really show how something is badly wrong with our economy. When you can see these problems at the TOP of an economic cycle, you know we’re in trouble. I’ve been thinking a lot about what it was like back in 2007. Seeing things from the top, knowing it was the top, even calling the top. In October of 2007 I was on a date with a girl and told her the country had 5 years of life left in it. I didnt know exactly what was coming but I knew it was going to be bad. No one saw anything like what I saw in 2007. It is scary staring out over a precipice; you cant really tell how far down the drop is. The next summer, sitting at the pool listening to Kid Rock’s “All Summer Long” I vividly remember telling my gf how this is as good as its going to ever be for a long long time. Yet still, over all this time, people still do not know what we are in. I never imagined they could have pulled off this money printing game for so long, but one way or another we end up in the same place: with everyone broke except for a few rich manipulative bastards who own everything.
The Obamanomics charts Admin posted above are about as clear of a statement of the epic failure of Obama’s administration as you could have. How could he stand in front of those charts and proclaim his presidency a success. This is just an example of his domestic economic failure, add in his foreign policy failures, how many soldiers have died under his watch, how many foreign civilians have died at his hand, how bad has he fucked up relations with, Russia, China, Europe and the middle east and what you have is complete and total failure. Yet he has the nerve to walk around thinking and pontificating how his shit does not stink. POS
Just heard on the patriots channel Sirius 125 that 94 + million people of working age are not in the workforce. It said these people are not even looking for work. They left the workforce for what ever reason and never tried to find another JOB.
bb,It is a matter of having an economy where there are jobs to be had. Not everyone wants to be a dumbass truck driver and never be home. And work at wages that are less than what people made in 1970(adjusted for inflation.) As an ex trucker,I know what i am talking about.
At least i can live with my thinking,When Obama first ran for office i saw no experience at anything and laughed at the idea of him leading the country.After the first term,Did people learn?At least Romney had done something,And had worked across the isle and made deals. Obama? Nuthing!
Inflation and the cost of living is making life very tough. Get ready for even worse shit heading your way. I still think an economic collapse is coming/Happening.
Yahsure , dumbass truck driver? I am making more money now then at any time in my life.I bought my own truck a couple years ago so I would get the tax benefits. So far so good.It frustrating at times but that trucking.I spent a good deal of my time in the Northwest which is nice especially the North Pacific.
Trucking companies are some of the biggest supporters of immigration. They can’t give away these trucking jobs to Americans. Most Americans are just to Damn lazy to get out and be a truck driver. They would rather stay home and sports on TV
You guys don’t get it. For power behind the throne its mission accomplished.
I have said it before, but will say it again.
The middle class lifestyle that Americans became accustomed to was an illusion. It is impossible to sustain that illusion, and the illusion will fast disappear.
The illusion sprang forth from the resources the US had/has, and sprang forth vigorously after WW2, when the rest of the world was smoking ash. That was a giant springboard forward.
When that leap forward began to lose momentum, the US artificially created momentum via debt. That kept the illusion going for a while longer.
But it was an illusion. The US was living far beyond its means. And it squandered the opportunity to set itself up for the future.
Instead of investing in infrastructure, etc., it invested in government drones and their pensions. It hocked its future to the free shit army. It allowed its advantage in education to crumble. It promised far more than it can deliver, and spent instead of invested.
And so the illusion is now fading fast into the rear-view mirror.
Also, consider this: The US is 5% of the world’s population, yet consumes around 25% of the world’s resources. Is that sustainable in a global economy, especially given its debt levels, its poorly educated population, its heavy welfare state, its desire to consume rather than to produce?
Hell no, the standard of living is never going to recover and it will keep falling. I continue to predict it has another 40% to fall.
The best that can hoped for is that instead of a rapid fall, it will occur over a couple of decades. But I doubt it.
Lloph
What you say is 100% absolutely correct. For over four decades the US has enjoyed a standard of living beyond what we were producing. First it was by burning through past savings, then by borrowing from the rest of the world (Debt) then when the rest of the world stopped buying the debt, the illusion was continued on by QE (printing). And as long as the rest of the world continued to accept paper the illusion continued.
The US has kicked the can for over 4 decades now. That’s all coming to an end. The big players are dumping US paper and are moving away from the dollar as fast as they can make the transition. The game is over. Kick the can is finished. It is now time to pay the Piper. The DEBT can no longer be delayed.
The average person has no clue what this next down turn is going to be like. You say 40% decline in the standard of living and I easily agree with that. It will be pain like nothing this country has ever seen. Yes worse than the Great Depression.
The increase on poverty has only just begun.
Tagging on to say its not just the US, its the West as a whole. To make people feel better about themselves we propped up non/low producing members of society, all in a bid to find the holy grail – utopia.
A utopia is an impossibility. You cannot legislate and buy a utopia. Shit will happen, people will fail, and resources will be depleted.
Socialist doctrine sounds great until you run out of someone else’s money.
People are always so quick to point out Germany/Scandanavian benefits, and there are good things to be had in each of those societies, but they UNANIMOUSLY had a very singular cultural identity. This homogeneity and low population growth allowed for a very precarious balance that had the appearance of a utopia, but was actually just the calm before the storm.
Germany has severe problems with population growth, and their tight control over corporations has made foreign money stay far away. As a result, the jobs market has stagnated, placing more strain on the welfare system. People always cite them as the economic power house of the EU, and thats true. What they don’t notice is that its deteriorating in front of us. The people know it, but are unsure of what to do. They truly believed in their system, and unfortunately for the Germans, strong political feelings one way or the other are somewhat taboo as a result of WW2.
Now here come the immigrants, wanting to ride that cultural shame to a free gravy train, and the Germans are too proud not to back up the appearance of shame with actually trying to help out.
What about other “success” stories? More of the same really. It worked for a few short decades, but as soon as immigrants learned of how easy it was, they came in mass, destroying the homogenous culture that made such a thing a possibility, and placing great strain on a system that was already imbalanced and failing.
Some sort of social conscious is required, the government should protect the rights of the people first and foremost, not the rights of the state (Germany) nor the rights of the corporations (US).
Still, nobody likes to admit all of that. A system of government can NEVER be perfect. It cannot guarantee happiness. It cannot guarantee a certain standard of living.
The best a government can do is protect its people’s freedom.
Freedom from foreign aggression via a strong navy/air force.
Freedom from foreign companies via well maintained trade tariffs.
Freedom from corporate intrusion via anti-trust laws and sane regulations. (Harder to define, and not cut and dried at all. “Freedom” of this nature will waffle back and forth based on scientific evidence, and its the responsibility of both the people and government to make sure that those adjustments are being made.
Freedom from oppression by their fellow man. In this case, let us pack heat, and the allow the occasional physical altercation. Right now we have problems because a large segment of the populace is being actively raised to believe nonviolence solves problems. I’m only 29, but in my few short years I have learned one singular truth: Violence solves a shit-load of problems.
Freedom from oppression by their government. Fair taxes. Justifiable infrastructure. Education based on knowledge and skills rather feelings and emotion.
All of that would be too damned painful for those have ceded all control of their lives to their company and government. Taking on that level of responsibility would cause them to actually have to think instead of just whining when someone else’s decision hurt their feelings.
Anyway my point has wandered back and forth like a drunken sailor, sorry for the rambling pointless post.
@TPC, not pointless, you make great points.
What IS pointless is expecting those that benefit from the way things ARE, to make changes that will hurt them to save us all.
Nope. Much better to agree to have grandma strip searched at the local Wally’s as long as I’ve got my beer, foreign made chips and dip, and am on my way home by game time.
I love your comments, please don’t degrade their, or your, worth!
@TE – Thanks for the words of encouragement, I wish I could contribute more here, either via posting, writing articles, or even financially, but its just not possible right now.
The only reason I’ve been “regular” this past couple of weeks is because of an audit that landed me at my desk for a couple of weeks writing reports/procedures, and then a shit-ton of “end of year” meetings.