for starters, the ones in the polls who don't seem to see the "boom" you refer to. I'm one of them, my wage is declining, my profession is being shipped offshore, my former co-workers have had to take jobs in a wide range of lower paying fields, or have switched to government employment. go ask the 10,000+ people HP is laying off, there is a pool of "real americans" you can ask their opinion. or the north carolina furniture workers, and the other millions of manufacturing jobs lost to offshoring.
where are these "jobs of the future"? we are creating service jobs, government jobs, health care, food service, education. matriculation rates of students in the sciences and engineering is falling off a cliff - every young person I talk to wants to be a lawyer or a teacher or a real estate agent.
and just wait until a guest worker program is opened up - you will see a massive wage deflation in jobs we do have, when Home Depot and Marriott can line up to legally hire newly minted workers coming across the border.
I can't speak to your individual situation but from a macro view the economy is humming along and creating wealth and opportunities for all American's.
More American's (70%) own homes now than at any other time in history. Almost 60% are invested in the stock market. Since 1997, American's have cashed in over $3.5 trillion in capital gains which is twice what we earned in the prior 20 years!!
You have to look real hard these days for doom and gloom from a macro viewpoint. I saw a study that proved that we have lost 7 million jobs a month over the past 10 years. We always manage to replace them, and create more, while increasing real wages for all workers.
Looking at employment, we are moving to a service economy and it's a fact that professional services pays more than manufacturing. At the same time, our manufacturing produces more with less labor. That productivity gain is what keeps us competitive.
Can you find bad news in any of these key indicators?
GDP growth
Unemployment
Rising wages
Low interest rates
Tame inflation
Manufacturing expansion
Corporate earnings
Stock Market Appreciation
Export growth
Household net worth
Home ownership
Number of Americans invested in the stock market
Consumer confidence