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Tracking US Recession with the RPI (Regular People's Index)
Economists and politicians keep their fingers on the pulse of the Dow Jones Average, following every tick of this narrow measure of Wall Street wealth.
But the truer indicator of America's economic health is in the Doug Jones Average — how are workaday folks like Doug and Doreen doing? After all, the experts tell us that we're now entering the third year of a glorious economic recovery from the Great Recession, so surely the bluebirds of happiness are chirping again in Dougland. But, listen: silence.
What killed off the bluebirds is the same greed of moneyed elites that caused the crash. Since the recession ended in July 2009, CEO pay is back in the stratosphere, corporate profits are up by nearly half, corporations are sitting on a record $2 trillion in cash, and the perky Dow Jones Average has soared by a delirious 90 percent, with nearly all of that gain being pocketed by the wealthiest 10 percent of Americans who own more that 80 percent of all stocks and bonds. The sounds you hear up there are the pop-pop-pop of Champagne corks.
Yet more that half of Americans say the recession is still raging in their zip codes, and nearly a third of them describe it as a full-blown depression. What's bugging these party poopers? Reality.
In this "recovery," those at the top of corporate America are practicing tinkle-down economics, refusing to hire the Dougs and Doreens, while eliminating hundreds of thousands of other jobs, knocking down wages and benefits, and unleashing their lobbyists on Washington and state capitals to shred jobless programs, health care, education, worker rights and other basics that sustain America's middle class.
If a bluebird did show up in Doug and Doreen's yard these days, it wouldn't be chirping — it'd be dinner.
At least President Obama recognizes that the workaday majority has been knocked down: "Our economy as a whole," he says (with what passes for keen insight in today's clueless Washington), "just isn't producing nearly enough jobs." Indeed, as one economic analyst put it: "June's employment report doesn't have a single redeeming feature. It's awful from start to finish."
The numbers were depressing:
- Only 18,000 jobs were added to the economy in June. It takes about 10 times that just to cover the new jobseekers who enter the market each month.
- The unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent. It would've been worse, except a quarter-million jobless people were so discouraged by their fruitless search that they quit looking in June. If you give up the search, our Orwellian system no longer counts you as unemployed, even though you are.
- For those with jobs, average hourly wages this year are 1.6 percent lower than in 2010 — the tiny pay raises that workers did get were swallowed whole by oil giants, supermarkets, utilities and other price-hikers.
So, congressional leaders and the president are trying to cut a deal — not to launch the bold, can-do jobs program that America urgently needs, but to slash spending on Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and other essential programs.
Adding to this Kafkaesque disconnect from reality, Republican leaders are locking arms (and minds) to prevent any cuts to the insane tax handouts now going to billionaire hedge fund speculators, Big Oil and multinational corporations that hide massive profits in offshore tax havens. While they cut the poor, no tax giveaway to the rich is so revolting that GOP lawmakers won't kiss it right on the lips, as shown by their insistence that even the $3 billion a year doled out to subsidize corporate jets is off limits, as is the subsidy that Uncle Sam gives yacht owners. Seriously, jets and yachts!
Sen. Jon Kyl whined that Democrats "want ordinary Americans to believe that they will not be affected by the president's tax-increase proposals." If anyone knows what planet Kyl lives on, please beam the news to him that ordinary Americans don't have corporate jets and yachts. We can laugh, but clowns like Kyl are destroying our middle class to make America safe for plutocrats.
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16 Comments so far
Show AllIt’s becoming increasingly clear that the jobs aren’t coming back. Meanwhile, the politicians tell the people that the answer to our deficit is to have people work more years. The illogic is stunning.
"At least President Obama recognizes that the workaday majority has been knocked down:"
Hightower, Are you kidding, you give credit to Obama for this? Obama has been downplaying the economic crisis we've been in for the last two years, and now when an unemployment report comes out so bad that it slaps him in the face, he was forced to say something.
I'm sure that Oblahblah regards "knocking down" the "workaday majority" as one of his greatest accomplishments.
Oops .. there was an error in the last sentence there. It should read - "We can laugh, but clowns like Kyl and Obama are destroying our middle class to make America safe for plutocrats." That's better.
.
But seriously, who here thinks that O's "deal" to roll back corporate jet and private yacht subsidies is worth giving up medicare and social security for? Anyone at all think that's a worthwhile trade off? Hightower...? ... Hightower..? ... Anyone...?
The death rate of the poor people in the United States is rising. Cause of death is their economic situation. As the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, the poor die. And most of us who used to be middle class are no longer. The unequal distribution of wealth in this nation is killing people. Our government's planned austerity programs will make things worse. Our government is so corrupt that they don't give any consideration to this situation. We must change the government. Start out by resolving NEVER AGAIN TO VOTE FOR EITHER OF THE CORPORATE MONSTERS.
Don't you think that it is going to take a bit more than "not voting" to change things?
In all fairness, voting isn't going to change things either.
Hightower is either still too emotionally invested in the old New-Deal Democratic Party to recognize it as part of the enemy -- or he's just a shill. I'm not sure which.
When we get tired of all this shit, and it IS shit, the same old same old, maybe then we can get down to the only thing that is going to change this country: a socialist backed, grass roots revolution. The greedy ass holes and their corrupt political toadies are not going to give up power and wealth without a fight--a bloody one. Come on, America, bite the bullet. Let's get rid of the parasites, lets give them what they deserve, in other words, lets off the bastards. Without them, we could be living lives free of worry about health costs or how to put food on the table and keep a roof over our heads--instead of fighting the paranoid wars that bring so much wealth to those who supply them (the parasites). And guess what, we might have a few bucks left over to help the multitudes starving in third world countries undo the damage of the Capitalist World Bank and get back on their feet. We need an equitable social system and a government that reflects the compassion and kindness of the average American. We need socialism. It ain't a bad word, folks. You have been fed a lot of bull shit propaganda. It's time we stopped meddling in the Muslim world and set our own house in order. When we are feeding and clothing our own people, then we can start worrying about how Islam treats women. When we have fair, just courts for ALL our classes, then we can worry about the injustices of Islam. When we stop terrorizing the world, then we can start dealing with true terrorism, here at home. Wake up, fools. The only terror right now should be directed towards greedy and power hungry Americans. The United States should be doing nothing right now except cleaning house.
"Tinkle-down economics" - yes we certainly are being tinkled on - as well as with what comes out the other end!!!!
I know it's hyperbole but it just feels good. If the President, that vain canker-blossom gets his way then that meddling fen-sucked foul deformity deserves to eat his peas and ours too.
A simple act that will bring jobs back to America, Tariffs. A word that sends shivers down the spines of predatory capitalist greed heads They will go all the way back to the 30s depression and tell you it was all the fault of the Smoot- Hawley act that caused the depression. That was then, this is altogether different, So called free trade and globalization has allowed the rest of the world to eat our lunch, and we are now faced with the possibility of no supper or breakfast either. to hell with free trade, we need fair trade, and severe penalties on any corporation that shuts down operations here and moves offshore
There is no such thing as a middle class. There are the ruling class and the working class. The middle class is an artificial distinction used by the ruling class to divide and conquer the working class.
when I saw the headline on this piece, I thought wow - isn't it great that someone has done the hard work to acutally compile an index that shows how bad things are for ordinary people.
Imagine my surprise when I came to this piece, which is just one of hundreds of web bloviations on the same job report - brad delong and p krugman did the same thing, a lot better,
why we need hightower clogging up the web with yet another piece is beyond me
The Hightower function now shifts to be that of cowhand outrider sent to round up strays for the Busted Hope Ranch and its "This time we mean it" 2012 campaign.
Sad...