Why the US Economy Has Not Recovered in 10 Charts

schiffgold.com ^ | March 24, 2015 | Mike Finger

[John W]

Peter Schiff isn’t the only one warning that the economic data of the United States is much worse than the media portrays. Michael Snyder has shared 10 charts pulled straights from the Federal Reserve’s own records that show how things have gotten worse since last crisis, not better. Some of these are points Peter has raised time and again, such as the low labor force participation rate. You can see it has been ticking steadily lower since the turn of the millennium.

However, Snyder goes on at length about a number of other important data points. Whether he is looking at the ballooning national debt or the velocity of money, he draws attention to the most important key fact:

"…Focus on the last shaded gray bar on each chart which represents the last recession. As you will see, our economic problems are significantly worse than they were just before the financial crisis of 2008. That means that we are far less equipped to handle a major economic crisis than we were the last time.”

The national debt has nearly doubled since the 2008 crisis.

The homeownership rate has fallen to a 20-year low.

Here’s a chart for the inactivity rate for men aged 25-54.

"If things are ‘getting better,’ then why are so many men in their prime working years doing nothing at all? Just prior to the last recession, the inactivity rate for men in their prime working years was about 9 percent. Today it is just about 12 percent.”

Household income is perhaps one of the most immediate gauges of whether or not the average American’s economic outlook has improved. While the median household income has started to barely tick up in the past couple years, it is still dramatically lower than it was before the crisis.

"I have shared these next numbers before, but they bear repeating. In America today, most Americans do not make enough to support a middle class lifestyle on a single salary. The following figures come directly from the Social Security Administration…

39 percent of American workers make less than $20,000 a year. 52 percent of American workers make less than $30,000 a year. 63 percent of American workers make less than $40,000 a year. 72 percent of American workers make less than $50,000 a year.”

You can see the rest of the charts at the Economic Collapse Blog, but even just this sampling makes it obvious that America has bigger problems than Washington and the Federal Reserve let on. How are they able to obscure this fundamental reality? Mostly by allowing the asset bubble in stocks and the housing market to continue to inflate. Those who spend their days studying the economy get wrapped up in their daily profits and new stock highs, missing the bigger picture.

These speculators ignore not only the experience of Main Street Americans represented in these charts, but also the elephant in the room: If the economy has recovered, why hasn’t the Fed raised interest rates? The answer is clear: an economy that is worse off than it was when interest rates were higher cannot sustain an interest rate hike. At least, not with an even worse crisis than what came before…

[John W]

Several of the charts at the source.

[exnavy]

This is news mostly to liberals and lefties.

[Leep]

I thought the reason the big Government was because of home ownership disparity? Maybe they need to spend more money?

[SkyPilot]

......but even just this sampling makes it obvious that America has bigger problems than Washington and the Federal Reserve let on. How are they able to obscure this fundamental reality? Mostly by allowing the asset bubble in stocks and the housing market to continue to inflate. Those who spend their days studying the economy get wrapped up in their daily profits and new stock highs, missing the bigger picture.

These "genius" investors simply react to the lies published by Obama's BLS and then trade Billions depending on which way Janet Yellen parts her hair in the morning. They know NOTHING of the real economy, just the inflated Bubble of the soon to be destroyed Stock Market.

These speculators ignore not only the experience of Main Street Americans represented in these charts, but also the elephant in the room: If the economy has recovered, why hasn’t the Fed raised interest rates? The answer is clear: an economy that is worse off than it was when interest rates were higher cannot sustain an interest rate hike. At least, not with an even worse crisis than what came before…

Most of us can kiss it all goodbye - our IRA, 401K, and savings. What is not lost in the coming Absolute Depression will be seized by the Federal government.

[Leep]

EDIT:

I thought the reason the big Government got involved was because of home ownership disparity? Maybe they need to spend more money?

[Popman]

Damn, these people are stupid....of course the economy is doing great...

Our golfing king says it is...

He is after all, the smartest guy ever to breath oxygen...

[Erik Latranyi]

Remember in 2009, when they believed the economy bottomed-out, all the talk that we may be entering a period of “the dead cat bounce”?

Well, we are in a dead-cat bounce economy, but nobody has the guts to say it.

[Jumper]

You have unveiled the motherload of information. Now without further adue, imagine that no inflation and massive printing of the money supply (coordinated worldwide by the Banks/Governments) as socialist and Marxist leadership promotes unsurprising continuing-to-fail-socialism.

If anything, the governments should have allowed the increased monetary increase to be accompanied by 5% inflation, even if they held interest rates. Instead they ballooned security and asset values in printed monies, again I will stress on a global basis, without achieving either a functioning economic Plan (remember five year planning?); and the enemies of the State(s) or world governmental bodies have kept up by private donors from oil rich states.

All the causes of this economic failure can be found in Marxist, utopian "dreamers", and fellow travelers who believe to feel good trumps having their feelings hurt with truth or facts. The people do understand Government(s) can print money - after all, this is about all the industrialized countries of the world produce in abundance.

When China figures out they can just print money to buy a bigger military, the world is in trouble.

[Hotlanta Mike]

Yeah, Obama will find out about it in the news. If ESPN runs the story.

[exDemMom]

The economic information is nothing new, for people who have been paying attention.

However, the title of this article annoys me. Will the US economy recover in 11 charts? In 12, maybe? How many charts *will* it take for the economy to recover?

[Cruz_West_Paul2016]

and in the meantime the MSM is concerned that Cruz was born in Canada(the 51st state). that seems to supercede the Obama caused depression.

[John W]

That was my initial interpretation too that it was referencing a period of time that included ten of a chart of economics that hadn’t come around. Obviously though it is ten current charts.

[Flick Lives]

The current economy resembles the world of “The Hunger Games”. A ruling elite in D.C. and NYC accumulates ever more wealth and talks about how wonderful the economy is doing. Meanwhile out in District 12, the average Joe is trying to hang onto his job and pay for increasingly expensive food and fuel; which the official government statistics discard when measuring inflation.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

#1) A 342 billion dollars / year trade deficit with the People’s Republic of China.

CHINA.

Now has the biggest export machine anywhere in the entire world.

And is growing. Rapidly.

[BitWielder1]

Because starting in 2009 every action by the 0bama administration have served to prolong the 2008 recession from the usual 2 years to a 10-20 year depression.
Deliberately.

[1010RD]

When will you stop lying about the trade ‘deficit’?

[hawkaw]

Can you help me out about your concern and what you mean? I am curious.

[ckilmer]

these charts show that the country has become relatively poorer with greater income disparity but not that the economy is tanking. different animals.

As it is the dollar is rising and gold is sinking. That means there is relative confidence in the state of the US economy relative to the rest of the world (dollar) and in absolute terms as well (gold)

[1010RD]

If hawkaw were to trade 1010RD something and I pay for it in full where does the deficit occur?

When hawkaw buys groceries and pays $100 for $100 worth of groceries where is the deficit?

You travel to Germany or Japan or China or Australia and spend $1000 there buying $1000 worth of goods or services. Where is the deficit?

A trade ‘deficit’ implies that you or the seller stole something, that the trade wasn’t free as in free will, or that you didn’t get what you paid for.

For instance a butcher is selling ground beef steak for $1/lbs. You order five pounds, but he only gives you four and a half pounds. In this case you’d have a legitimate deficit of half a pound of beef.

It doesn’t matter that the butchers rich daddy is supplementing the low price with his wealth from another endeavor. If instead you received your full five pounds there would be no deficit.

It’s that the transaction is complete upon an agreed upon sale quantity and price. CNN knows this. It is basic economics.

The term ‘trade deficit’ is an invention of the Left, central planners and mercantilists. Look up mercantilism. The Democrats use trade deficit to push unionism and protectionism for their favored group or industry. It’s a lie and always has been.

[hawkaw]

Thanks for that. I appreciate it.