Posted on 01/18/2015 11:45:39 AM PST by SkyPilot
Barack Obama enters the final two years of his presidency with a blemish on his legacy that looks impossible to erase: the decline of the middle class he has promised to rescue.
The revival of middle-class jobs has been one of Obama's mantras since he took office in 2009 fighting the worst economic crisis in generations. It was a major theme of his last State of the Union address and is expected to feature in the one scheduled for Tuesday.
Administration officials said on Saturday the president would propose higher capital gains taxes, new fees on large financial firms, and other measures to raise $320 billion for programs and tax breaks aimed at the middle class.
Obama's administration can take credit for stabilizing the U.S. economy, which is growing again and last year added jobs at the fastest clip since 1999.
But for the middle class the scars of the recession still run deep. Federal Reserve survey data show families in the middle fifth of the income scale now earn less and their net worth is lower than when Obama took office.
In the six years through 2013, over the recession and recovery that have spanned Obama's tenure, jobs have been added at the top and bottom of the wage scale, a Reuters analysis of labor statistics shows. In the middle, the economy has shed positions - whether in traditional trades like machining or electrical work, white-collar jobs in human resources, or technical ones like computer operators.
The trend is in plain sight in Dalton, Georgia, a manufacturing hub 90 miles (145 km)north of Atlanta. Massive factories that made it "the carpet capital of the world," were slammed by the collapse of the housing bubble.
(Excerpt) Read more at ca.news.yahoo.com ...
The scars from this Depression will last for decades; young people will not forget the foreclosed homes, lost jobs, and repossessed cars. People will be reluctant to do anything with assumptions of continued employment, and that is making itself clear with the lack of American children being born. People without kids don’t have any pressing need to commit to 30 years of mortgage payment; they won’t even commit to car payments (instead opting for shorter-term leases).
In 2008, probably a lot (they thought he would fix the economy and bring back opportunity); in 2012, not so much (many). Unfortunately they didn’t show up for his opponent either; he was too rich and too white and too male.
The amount of voter apathy I’ve seen for decades is creepy; ignorant people just assume they have no control over anything and just bitch & moan without voting. Many people (anyone who didn’t vote against him) deserve Obama.
We have been in free fall since the late 70's. The decline didn't start with Obama, but he sure is trying to make it worse.
Global wage arbitrage, immigration, trade policies, globalization, debt spending, more government...etc..
Looking back, we will see that a middle class was a oddity in history. The polices of the GOP and the Dems will not solve our current problems...They have been at the root of it.
Truth be told, the 2008 economy was more than just Bush at the helm, like most collapses it was a culmination of too many people mishandling their money or just too many people with too much debt having their loans called in, yet they were unable to pay. Throw in student debt, a mess was inevitable.
The pulling of the plug in 2008 apparently started in Chicago. A FReeper posted a long piece that explained it, but I don’t have that anymore.
It was pulled just as McCain (Palin) were pulling farther ahead.
It was planned.
Exactly!
His upbringing clearly points to him having that exact opinion of the white world and America in particular.
As I watch each executive order, each action he plans to promote, each law he planned with the liberals - if both parties - I am more and more convinced he IS following C-P. I can think of no other explanation that makes sense by looking at his policies and the outcome of them. The destruction of this country is no doubt in the works, with the willing accomplices in the press and most republicans. That the RINOs would go along is what I find incomprehensible.
Are so many able to be bribed? Why are there so few patriots? If you and I and countless others can see it so clearly, why can’t they? Power and greed, i supposed, corrupts.
Part of the middle class can fight O and he knows it. Rob us blind and what will we fight with, stones? By fight I’m not talking elections, courts, or rallies with signs that have no practical value. There may still be more of us than them, maybe.
“Welcome! I’ve lived here 25 years and the place gets redder every day.”
Awesome! That’s why we chose East Tennessee. The voting there ran 75-25 over the last several election cycles, better than most other states. But there’s so much more as well, like the beauty of the place, nice people, and cute accents. The rest are related to the voting - low taxes, good demographics, reasonable property values.
I am a little worried about how nice people were - hoping they weren’t that accepting of all outsiders, lest we be invaded by liberals and Mexicans.
Yeah -—
Nah. He’s just lying low —
It’s never over till the fat lady sings
And .. she aint sung yet.
In Matthew 10:26 says .. nothing concealed; everything revealed.
That’s what I’m praying, so that’s what I’m counting on.
.
I have those years for all the columns though of course some types of data do not go back that far. I hesitate to post them all at once owing to the size -- and possible damage to scrolling wheels trying to ignore the posting. :)
Any suggestions for additional important data would be appreciated. If I can find it among federal government sources I'll add it. Thanks.
Thanks, I didn’t mean to sound unappreciative or rude. But, that economic forces have been in play for years. Thanks again.
Bfl
Your story sounds similar to mine, six figures but began to decline in 2007, bottom dropped out in 2008, shut my company down and went to work for a former customer for 1/3 of what I was making previously. Held it together OK on that, worked my way up, increased my pay nearly 30% from starting salary but did end up having to tap emergency fund frequently for anything above and beyond, car repairs, house repairs.
That job ended unexpectedly in January 2014. Drew unemployment for the first time in my life, which maxes out at $350.00 a week and only goes 19 weeks here in NC. Looked promising to land a much better position right off the bat, but various factors prevented that from occurring, so I began taking contract and freelance work, which is allowed on unemployment so long as it doesn’t exceed a certain amount. Blew right past the end of unemployment eligibility, redoubled my efforts to build up the contract and freelance work, while applying madly for jobs for which I’d qualify. Managed to support myself but just barely, and emergency funds were just about depleted.
Landed a job in November, in my field, well qualified for it, great benefits and I’ve clawed back to 2/3 of what I was making prior to the crash. Working to build that emergency fund back before I do anything else, it saved me twice.
I certainly did not take your comments to be anything like that. I appreciated the question. I'm retired and have plenty of time on my hands -- and boy do they show it!
The request for suggestions was serious for anyone reading this because I cannot think of anything more at the moment.
I wanted to have as much as I can to counter entities like Obama-Holder Department of Just Us and Obama's the State of You'n and Us speech.
I didn’t think Bush II had much to do with the collapse at all; I think a large part of it was caused by the fact that the ramifications of massive job losses/outsourcing came to a head in one fell swoop - people had spent as though they would have their jobs until retirement, they used credit to maintain middle-class lifestyles, then they had the rug pulled out from under them. All of their debt (home mortgages, credit card debt, student loans) became fairly worthless paper immediately - for most it could never be re-paid with the McJobs that would be the “new normal” going forward.
I distinctly remember a panelist at the time saying the status symbol in the new normal would be having a job; his foresight was incredible. Anyone I know who lost their job then and found another since is making a lot less money (even if they are doing the same work - it is as though firms traded staff to reduce salaries and cut back on accumulated vacation time & such); most new jobs have not just low pay but horrible benefits. Americans will work more hours than they ever did before, and they will have less to show for it than before as well. The falling gasoline prices can’t mask what has happened to food prices over the past decade.
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