The numbers from our own Census Bureau support it. In just the last few years the size of the middle class has decreased, median income has gone down by over $1,500 a year, 4.3 million previously "middle class" Americans have fallen into the ranks of the poor as their incomes dropped below the $25k mark, and the ranks of the middle class continue to decline even in quarters where the GDP is increasing.
Look it up yourself. The numbers are out there on the census bureau website, factcheck.org, and plenty of other places on the Internet. We can either address this issue, or all be pollyannas. If you want to ignore the issue and cling to your "everything is going to be OK" beliefs, that's fine. But I take this very seriously, and I will not stand by and watch the destruction of the land that my family first helped settle more than 240 years ago just so a few free traitors can increase their profit margins. America first means AMERICANS first. Nobody should be in ANY position of governance in this nation if they disagree with that mantra.
Check it out. I got the "look it up yourself" defense. Again!
You'd think that a high-performance economy, producing above-average growth and below-average inflation, would be a re-election ace. After all, during the 10 recovery quarters since the end of the 2001 recession, real GDP -- the most comprehensive measure of the economy -- has averaged 3.4% growth, in line with the average post-World War II expansion rate. Since the supply-side tax cuts were passed in Spring 2003, real economic growth has jumped to 4.8%, putting it at the head of the class of the past 20 years.Somehow -- blame it on many media outlets -- this message is muted. Yet over the past year:
• Inflation-adjusted consumer spending is up 3.6%.
• Residential housing investment is up 13.2%.
• Capital-goods investment by businesses is up 13.9%.
• Spending on machine tools for heavy-industry manufacturing is up a whopping 54.2%.
• Exports and imports are up nearly 11%.
• After-tax corporate profits are up 19.5%.
• Industrial production is up 5.2%.
• High-tech production is up 23.7%.
• Productivity has reached an astonishing 4.6% rate.
• Household wealth is up 11.1%, hitting a record high of $45.9 trillion.
• The GDP deflator is up only 2.2%.
• The core consumer-spending deflator (excluding food and energy) is up only 1.4%.
• Interest rates are at 45-year lows, with short-term rates at less than 2%.
• 15-year mortgage rates are just above 5%.
• Home ownership stands at a record 69.2%.
Impressive? No, remarkable, considering the economy was up against an inherited recession, a busted tech bubble, corporate scandals, 9/11, two wars and an oil-price shock. The strong performance also sharply contrasts with ongoing weakness in Europe. John Kerry may love Europe, but GDP there is growing at less than 2%, with unemployment between 9% and 10%...
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Sorry, but this is flat wrong. You're badly misinformed. Here is the truth.