More Americans Worse Off Financially Than a Year Ago

[glenn1]

Real wage decline for a decade isn't much for the majority of the people...

That's not a decade of decline, it was flat as recently as Obama's inauguration.

 

[ivwshane]

Ahh yes, any time there is bad New = Republicans blocked Obama's every move.

And any time there is good News = Obama has done many great things.

Poor little partisan hack boy who's world is only black and white. Can you find where in my post where I stated it was the republicans fault? Better yet can you even find the word, "republican" in my post anywhere?

Do you know what "congress" is? Are you familiar with what party holds the majority in either chamber?

What's funny is that you probably assumed I was speaking about republicans because deep down, sub consciously, you know exactly what party isn't helping. That's your own guilt coming through.

 

[Engineer]

That's not a decade of decline, it was flat as recently as Obama's inauguration.

So that makes you feel better that we had a flat real wage from 2000-2008 and then the bottom dropped out. Real wages for the majority of people are down, any way you look at it. On top of that, it was down from 2002 to 2007 and was popped up by home equity / rising home values propping up the ever popular bubble economy. The only way the economy grows during the last few decades is bubble after bubble.....and then pop, down goes the average Joe (along with his job and wages).

How about the early 70's to the late 90's...great growth for the people....

 

[MagickMan]

Obama has done little to none to fix it but this started long before Obama took office. Ross Perot's famous giant sucking sound has bitten the US. The foundation is crumbling....just a matter of time before the rest of the building falls.

Indeed. Remember those 30 minute infomercials he did when he was running for President, with all the slides and statistics? The ones people mocked or ignored? Those are all coming to fruition and the free ride is over.

 

[Doppel]

The economy today is objectively better, in almost every respect, than it was on 1/20/09.

It is. I am a reformed doomer. I do still believe there are profound long term problems and inequality between all of us and the elite is a problem, but the economy is better.

 

[Incorruptible]

Not surprised at all with what obama has been doing. People are worse off because of obamas policies.

 

[MagickMan]

It is. I am a reformed doomer. I do still believe there are profound long term problems and inequality between all of us and the elite is a problem, but the economy is better.

The "elite" are a much smaller group than you may think. The 1% are just as vulnerable to the multinationals and billionaires as anyone else. There's always a bigger fish.

 

[Victorian Gray]

Not surprised at all with what obama has been doing. People are worse off because of obamas policies.

I believe that it would be appropriate to call this

 

[Incorruptible]

I believe that it would be appropriate to call this

Still angry that I kicked your ass?

 

[glenn1]

So that makes you feel better that we had a flat real wage from 2000-2008 and then the bottom dropped out. Real wages for the majority of people are down, any way you look at it. On top of that, it was down from 2002 to 2007 and was popped up by home equity / rising home values propping up the ever popular bubble economy. The only way the economy grows during the last few decades is bubble after bubble.....and then pop, down goes the average Joe (along with his job and wages).

How about the early 70's to the late 90's...great growth for the people....

It doesn't make me feel better, I'm just correcting what was an obvious exaggeration by you.

And yeah, earnings growth has stagnated since the 1970s. Any given person's view on how that came to be is almost certainly going to depend on your political viewpoint to the exclusion of nearly all else. Or you can accept the more likely explanation that the rapid wage growth in the post WW2-1970 period was the outlier rather than the historical norm. Notice how below wages were similarly stagnant from the beginning of the chart in 1910 until the end of the war. Whether we could recreate a post-WW2 style period of outperformance is very questionable, and one could argue in good faith that even trying is likely to be counter-productive.

 

[Engineer]

It doesn't make me feel better, I'm just correcting what was an obvious exaggeration by you.

I actually thought that was the case as I couldn't quite see the years properly on the graph as my eyesight is going downhill fast (damn getting old and need glasses badly). 🙁

I never meant to exaggerate at all on that point. Regardless, we aren't doing very well in the wage department yet the economic pie is growing all during that time. It would, IMO, be better if everyone had a little bit of a larger piece of pie year over year than just a few getting it and hoping that it trickles down somehow (which it has not).

Oh well, pains of a service economy I suppose....

 

[rudder]

Not to worry, GOP refusing to extend unemployment benefits is going to solve the problem. They correctly identified the reason there are so many poor and unemployed people, and it is because being poor and unemployed is just too nice. Making the poor and unemployed suffer is the solution to poverty and unemployment.

Did Republicans really refuse to extend benefits or did they something along the lines of "we will agree to an extension if the budget is reduced elsewhere." Hmmmmm.

 

[Matt1970]

Poor little partisan hack boy who's world is only black and white. Can you find where in my post where I stated it was the republicans fault? Better yet can you even find the word, "republican" in my post anywhere?

Do you know what "congress" is? Are you familiar with what party holds the majority in either chamber?

What's funny is that you probably assumed I was speaking about republicans because deep down, sub consciously, you know exactly what party isn't helping. That's your own guilt coming through.

So you are trying to tell me it's the Senate democrats keeping Obama from getting things passed?

 

[dmcowen674]

I actually thought that was the case as I couldn't quite see the years properly on the graph as my eyesight is going downhill fast (damn getting old and need glasses badly). 🙁

I never meant to exaggerate at all on that point. Regardless, we aren't doing very well in the wage department yet the economic pie is growing all during that time. It would, IMO, be better if everyone had a little bit of a larger piece of pie year over year than just a few getting it and hoping that it trickles down somehow (which it has not).

Oh well, pains of a service economy I suppose....

My Dad went 15 years without a raise where he worked until they laid him off last month.

He would get glowing reviews but when it came to a pay raise they would just use the excuse that he is already at the top of the pay scale.

Now where I work has frozen wages for the last two years.

Expenses don't freeze, they consistently go up.

 

[brianmanahan]

My Dad went 15 years without a raise where he worked until they laid him off last month.

He would get glowing reviews but when it came to a pay raise they would just use the excuse that he is already at the top of the pay scale.

Now where I work has frozen wages for the last two years.

Expenses don't freeze, they consistently go up.

did he try to get a job anywhere else?

i know several people who have run into this as well (my grandpa was one of them). you may have to look for another position in another company in order to combat it. if it happens to me i will definitely start looking.

 

[Aldon]

The "elite" are a much smaller group than you may think. The 1% are just as vulnerable to the multinationals and billionaires as anyone else. There's always a bigger fish.

Huh? Small in numbers but big in pockets? Duh?

 

[dmcowen674]

did he try to get a job anywhere else?

i know several people who have run into this as well (my grandpa was one of them). you may have to look for another position in another company in order to combat it. if it happens to me i will definitely start looking.

He isn't looking yet. He is still in shock.

We as Americans or any other Country for that matter should not have to change jobs to get a fucking cost of living raise. The shit Corporations are getting away with now is absurd.

 

[brianmanahan]

He isn't looking yet. He is still in shock.

We as Americans or any other Country for that matter should not have to change jobs to get a f*****g cost of living raise. The s**t Corporations are getting away with now is absurd.

unfortunately its never gonna work like that. my grandpa at one point was making 20$ an hour and ended up making 12$ an hour. stayed for the pension, only to have that get cut roughly in half.

as the say, crap in one hand, wish in the other...

i have seen enough to realize that nobody in the world is looking out for me except for me. nobody else gives a crap. so i gotta be proactive in working as much as i can as soon as i can, and saving as much as i can. and if a job goes south, look around and ditch it for something better, even if that means relocating.

i figure if i save a ton and dont get married, i can get out by the age of 50.

 

[ivwshane]

So you are trying to tell me it's the Senate democrats keeping Obama from getting things passed?

You get dumber by the day!

 

[MagickMan]

Huh? Small in numbers but big in pockets? Duh?

What I'm saying is, few people in the top 1% are the "elite".

 

[Doppel]

The "elite" are a much smaller group than you may think. The 1% are just as vulnerable to the multinationals and billionaires as anyone else. There's always a bigger fish.

But when you look at charts like this, you can see that the top 20% are still doing okay; still growing. It's much better for the top 5%, too, not just the 1%.

i have seen enough to realize that nobody in the world is looking out for me except for me. nobody else gives a crap. so i gotta be proactive in working as much as i can as soon as i can, and saving as much as i can. and if a job goes south, look around and ditch it for something better, even if that means relocating.

Agreed. It's pretty much known by everybody that often you need to switch jobs to get a decent pay raise. There are lots of exceptions, but for a lot of people this is the only way to do it.

 

[Matt1970]

You get dumber by the day!

No, it just keeps getting harder and harder for you and your ilk to keep the blame game going.