Menzie Chinn is Professor of Public Affairs and Economics at Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs.
We all have seen a 40% inflation in our energy costs every year since 0 took office.
So spin as hard as they want, there is NO way to sell this notion that people are "better off" now then when Bush left office.
Without accounting for the devaluation of the dollar his analysis is flawed. Yes consumption in dollars has increased but the price of those items has increased as in a gallon of gas.
Nope. Went from a one income family to a two income family trying to equal what we had before.
Personal debt has increased as well.
Time to go all Dave Ramsey on it and clear it all out.
Where is the population verses employment graph?
The university of Wi Madison. 35 square miles surrounded by reality. That explains the findings.
Things started going down hill when BHO got the nomination. Businesses KNEW things were going to end badly and they did. Only wish I’d have had the vision to get out of the market right then and there.
We’ve managed to climb back up IF you look at the Dow but then those dollars don’t quite add up. 144.00 barrel oil in July ‘08 and gas prices around 4 bucks a gallon, 100.00 or slightly under barrel of oil NOW and 4 bucks a gallon. Hmmm what would it be IF we had 144.00 a barrel now, 6 bucks a gallon easy.
Libs tout a 6-7,000 DOW in Dec. ‘09 vs. a 12K or so now DOW but they aren’t the same. Not by a long shot.
We’re doing ok, but we do live below our means and always have.
Americans saw wealth plummet 40 percent from 2007 to 2010, Federal Reserve says
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/fed-americans-wealth-dropped-40-percent/2012/06/11/gJQAlIsCVV_story.html
U.S. poverty heads toward highest level in 50 years
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-us-poverty-heads-toward-highest-level-in-50-years-20120723,0,5437495.story
The United States now ranks fifth, overtaken by Sweden and Singapore in the 2011-2012 rankings of the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness report.
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/209890/20110907/united-states-united-kingdom-sweden-and-singapore-2011-2012-rankings-of-the-world-economic-forum-s-g.htm
A Downgrade for Illinois-The worst credit rating aside from California
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2924482/posts
liberal economics works great everywhere it’s tried!
The question: Are You Better Off Than You Were at the End of the Bush Administration?
should be changed to: Are You Better Off Than You Were at the Beginning of the Obama Administration?
Since the electorate decided in September that 0bama would win the business community began acting in self defense. In other words 0bama should be blamed for all that took place from September and not November.
Household net worth per capita has risen, I do not think so.
It is a question that needs to be phrased better. In my case:
My income is up 40% since the last election. Made some sound job moves. A former CEO I worked for told me “Economy stinks, you are not going anywhere”. I had a new position 2 weeks later with a raise.
My household income is up 75% since the last election (wife went back to work after raising the kids).
Household debt eliminated except for mortgage.
Retirement savings has recovered and increased without additional deposits (companies stopped matching, I stopped contributing).
I opened up my own investment account that is valued more than the total of my deposits.
I have 6 months in cash expenses in a savings account.
I opened up education accounts for the 2 kids. Not a fortune, but will pay cash for first 3 semesters at an in-state school.
So, in my case, I am better off.
But, things are not great. I am having a hard time finding my next career leg up. The interviews I do get, they are only willing to pay peanuts, or just trying to harvest ideas from me without being willing to pay for them.
Over at Gretawire, she’s advising Obama to ‘convince’ the voters he’s had ‘strong’ leadership and that we are better off, now!
And they wonder why we think the media is biased??? In the tank....!
This is just like every classic abuse of mathematical and statistical analysis. (1) The numbers should be normalized for population and inflation, not just for population. (2) The “multipliers” used for Keynesian economics are only those from fans of Keynes. Many experts believe the true multipliers are less than 1.00, in which case the counterfactual outcomes without Stimulus would have been better than with Stimulus. To use a range of Keynesian multipliers in evaluating a Keynesian stimulus and then conclude that the stimulus worked is absurd. There are many other fatal flaws in his math, but that’s a good start. This guy is creating propaganda - knowing as he does it that he is lying - or he is an idiot who is too stupid to be permitted to teach our children.