WHY THE GROWING ECONOMY ISN'T HELPING THE AVERAGE AMERICAN!

yep 3 million new jobs since last august, unemployment at a steady 5%.. who is working all these new jobs privategene?

Oh I know all republican millionaires are.

Yes, there are new jobs. There are also almost 6 million new workers since Bush took office. The issue is not job creation but the fact that housing, healthcare and enecry costs are growing FASTER then wage growth. Thus, even with a job, the Middle and low income workers find their after tax wages buy LESS then before. The ONLY group that has done well under the Bush economic policy are those that receive the higner corporate dividends and TOP corporate execuatives!!! These are also the same group that has received the BIG tax cuts ( those who have get). That is NOT where the low and middle income workers receive their income.

The Bush policies are working for the people it was designed to help. The problem is that is not the VAST MAJORITY OF AMERICAN WORKERS!

I managed to get a job straight out of college with almost no real work experience to speak of. job pays well too.

If new college grads are able to find jobs fairly easily, it's a pretty decent economy (though it could be better, took about half a year to finally find a job)

I am glad for you. That is NOT the subject of my Blog. The issue is not the ability to get a job but the inability of the low and middle income workers to affort the higher cost of Housing, healthcare, cars and energy. For example, the impact of the increase in housing costs can be sceen in the creation of 40 Year mortgages and mortgages with interest ONLY for the first ten years and than the payment doubles! Overall, almost ALL the low and the vast majority of middle income workers are worse off then in Jan 2001.

As for job creation, if we have 6 million new workers since Jan 2001 and have created 3 million jobs during that same period, what are the other 3 million workers doing to earn a living?

Let me see.  The AVERAGE AMerican, owns a home.  WHich means their wealth just increased 20% for doing absolutely nothing.  Which means they are benefitting.  WHich means Col is wrong again.  Which is not news.

MOve along people, nothing to see here.  Just twisted facts from a twisted mind.

 

duplicate

Dr Guy

First, the issue is that anyone that does not own a home and wants to purchase one or wants a larger home has found the increase in the cost has out paced their income. The increase in the value of homes owned is only realized upon their sale and then where does the person live? If they buy an new home the gain is GONE because of the increase in the cost of the new home they purchase.!


As for the increases in energy and healthcare that is pure added expense that is far in excess if their wage gains. For the low income workers, they have sceen almost NO increase in their take home pay and have the higher energy and health costs.

No, Dr Guy I am CORRECT. The only income group that is doing well is the top bracket. The middle and low income Ameicans are much worse off given the way this economy is growing. We also have added 6 million new workers since Jan 2001 and only 3 million jobs. Many of the 3 million new jobs are paying less then then the jobs that were lost in 2001- 2003 and have fewer benefits! The Bush economic policy is a FAILURE for MOST AMERICANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If they buy an new home the gain is GONE because of the increase in the cost of the new home they purchase.!

I'm not sure about the rest of the US (though IMO it follows the housing market here), I am preparing to sell my Condo and purchase a new built home. The difference between the sale price of my Condo and the purchase price of the new home has kept pace together for the last two years. i.e. I will be paying the same difference now then what I would have paid two years ago. This is in a market that has jumped 24% last year alone. I know what I am talking about because I have been waiting on a list for nearly a year and a half. I was scared about the rising new home cost until I notice that rising sale price of other homes near by.

As for new home owners I only have to say, buy a condo or apply for one of the many State fair housing programs. That's becoming almost standard here for locals that fall into the lower income brackets. It’s the blasted California Refugees, running from that socialist state raising prices here. Apartment complexes around here are also going condo for a fair price too.

Also one last thing, the rising prices of homes and oil really would have happened even if Gore or Kerry would have been elected. If you could just please tell me just what either Gore or Kerry had promised that would have changed the shortage of oil refiners and home prices?

As for the oil prices, most of the high cost is due to the limited amount of refineries. Something that only the relaxation of EPA regs. would have fixed. Something that neither Gore nor Kerry could ever even think of changing with a large portion of their political base being Eco nuts.Iraqi Oil production has risien from a 1.32Mil to this last Aprils 1.83Mil. The World oil production has increase by almost 5Mil. Link What did Bill Clinton do to increase oil production…… Raise the EPA restrictions for drilling oil in the US and surrounding waters. What was Kerry’s idea for High energy prices “I will invest larger amounts of money into renewable energies. Then work with our fine allies by placing more pressure on them to raise oil production limits.” Get a clue Kerry, because you also stated that you would return to surplus spending (with the largest increase in spending ever) and our allies are already pumping at max capacity.

For the home prices.....? I have got to here your reasoning for Bush policies affecting this.

Well, I have lots of gripes about the way Bush does things...but...

Thank you Mr. President, for my husband's last raise and the one coming up in the winter, and thank you for the over $5K tax return as well.

There are some people that are doing well. The truth is that the majority are NOT. The low income worker and most of the middle income Americans have not done well with the current economic policy that favors big business and high income Americans.

The reason that the demand for gasoline is so high is because we did not require car makers to produce efficient cars. Bush talks about conservation and refuses to address the biggest wast of oil- SUV's and low mileage cars! I did not see any large tax saving from the Bush Tax Cuts since I have no children under 18 and elimination of the marriage penality does not apply because we are retired. The dividens I receive are in my TSA's which were not taxed BEFOR the Bush tax cuts. Our tax saving was about $400.

ColGene: I respect that you are so passionate about all this, but really...

Do you see Bush as all powerful? Is he responsible for the success or failure of every single American? People are tough...we are resiliant...unless he's deliberately and directly ruining people's financial security, why not just realize that we can overcome adversity?

The impact of things like the tax and fiscal policy Bush has pushed through congress will have a vast impact on every sector of our economy for decades. The added interest we will be obligated to pay on the increase in the Nastional Debt alone that is due to the Bush tax and spending will be off the charts. We will see an increase in the interest of $200 Billion EVERY YEAR from the added debt his policies have created. We have paid about $5 trillion in interest friom 1981 to 2004 in the added interest that resulted from the Reagan economic policy. The worst part is that we are still paying that added interest and will until we repay the debt. Bush wants to cut the annual deficit in half- That does not stop adding to the debt nor repay the $10 Trillion that we will owe by the end of his term.

He is not all powerful but his policies will haunt us for decades to come.

First, the issue is that anyone that does not own a home and wants to purchase one or wants a larger home has found the increase in the cost has out paced their income. The increase in the value of homes owned is only realized upon their sale and then where does the person live? If they buy an new home the gain is GONE because of the increase in the cost of the new home they purchase.!

Bull puckey! I just bought my home 2 yrs ago. and what your saying just ain't so.

There are some people that are doing well. The truth is that the majority are NOT. The low income worker and most of the middle income Americans have not done well with the current economic policy that favors big business and high income Americans.

More bull puckey. I am not/ never have been anything but lower class. And just from my stand point, your wrong.

Well col what have you to say now? This is from MSNBC:
Sorry terp.

Updated: 2:14 p.m. ET Aug. 10, 2005 WASHINGTON - The U.S. posted a smaller than expected $52.79 billion budget deficit in July as revenues swelled, a Treasury Department report showed Wednesday. Wall Street analysts had expected the government to post a $57 billion budget gap in July, following a $69.16 billion deficit in the same month in 2004. In its monthly budget statement, the Treasury Department said government receipts rose to $142.09 billion in July — a record high for the month — compared to $134.42 billion in July last year. Outlays fell to $194.88 billion from $203.58 billion in July 2004. For the fiscal year to date, the government has recorded a cumulative $302.59 billion budget deficit, well below the $396.32 billion gap it recorded in the first 10 months of fiscal 2004, which ended Sept. 30.

Link

Trolling again as usual is the Col.

Meanwhile, I'll stop in and ask Which Average Americans the C.O.L. is referring to? The ones in Canada? In Mexico? Peru? Brazil? Argentina? Colombia? Those Average Americans?

U.S.A. is the proper term. U.S. citizens also a proper term. Americans? Anyone living in North America or South America could be referenced by the label.


Considering how "off" the C.O.L. is on that label alone, why bother with the rest of the crap, which is just repeat number #79 of rants #44 and #63 combined. Same old crap, same old tired articles by same old tired bs publishing author. Again, I wish that people would remind themselves to just ignore the bait. It's rotten, and it does nothing but humor the fisherman when he's trolling for more discussion. Let the articles die the horrible quiet death they deserve.

No, Dr Guy I am CORRECT

nO, once again you are wrong.  It is not big evil corporations bidding the price of houses higher, it is the people (read: Middle class) that are buying and selling them and bidding them up.  You are so wrong, you cant see the end of your nose for your glasses.

Bubuy.

No, Dr Guy I am CORRECT. The only income group that is doing well is the top bracket. The middle and low income Ameicans are much worse off given the way this economy is growing.

I can't speak for everyone else, but I can tell you that my husband and our little family fall into the high end of low income/low end of middle income brackets and we're doing better this year than we ever have before.

Sorry if I screwed up your theory.

I live in New England, one of the most expensive real estate markets in the country overall. It costs a freaking fortune to own land up here. Yet, TWO of my coworkers, who are recent college grads just like me, making the same amount of money I am have purchased houses up here within a year of starting their jobs. Their monthly payments are on par with average rental rates (perhaps a bit higher). They're affording housing on what in this area is considered low income (50k... I do live in the #1 taxed state in the US), and they didn't buy crap houses in dingy areas.

Sorry Col, but your BUSHISTOBLAMEFOREVERYTHING theory just doesn't pan out. Real Estate values go in cycles, we're at a high point right now and people have been speculating for a while that the bubble is going to burst soon.

I could go out and secure a loan to buy a house tomorrow, go out and find a decent place within a month and still be able to afford utilities and food. Only reason I don't is because I don't plan on staying here in the long-run. I am most certainly not anywhere even close to "upper" middle class. I'm pretty much square in the middle, I'm that average income worker you talk about oh so much.

Now that we're all ganging up on him, he'll probably abandon the thread.

He abandons threads as soon as his point is disproven... or he'll come back and say "Well, the point I was making wasn't REALLY about home ownership... it was about how BMWs are unfairly priced out of range of low income households!"

As usual col doesn't post his "studies" and relies on biased media polls to argue his "facts".

drmiler

I saw the new estimates of the annual deficit being lower The key word is LOWER. The deficit, not counting the Social Security and Medicare surplus is still over $500 Billion this year. The cumulative deficit TODAY is $8 Trillion and will be just short of $10 Trillion by the end of FY 2008 EVEN WITH THE LOWER EST. WE pay interest on the ENTIRE NATIONAL DEBT BALANCE EVERY YEAR!

The year before Reagan began with his supply-side Reaganomics ( or voodoo economics Bush 41 said) the interest the United States paid on its national debt was $60 billion dollars. With the increase in the debt created by Reaganomics 1 and Reaganomics 2 ( the Bush contribution) the interest every year jumped from $ 60 billion to approximately $500 billion dollars by 2008. Until we balance the budget the amount we owe continues to grow. After we have balanced the budget, we MUST generate a annual surplus to begin paying down that in huge national debt to reduce the interest. In addition, over 40% of the interest is paid to foreign companies or individuals which means that money does not even benefit other Americans who would receive it and spend it stimulate to help stimulte the economy. As interest rates increase, the amount is pay in interest increases yet again. At the present time, over $1 trillion of the national debt held by the public is short-term. In the last 18 months, short-term rates have trippled and so has the interest or that one trillion dollars. The Bush plan to cut the deficit in half does not fix the problem because the deficit continues to grow at a slower rate and never addresses the cumulative balance which is currently $8 trillion dollars on which we must pay interest every single year. $500 billion in interest is more than the United States is currently spending on national defense including the Iraq war. $500 billion in one year would pay that prescription drug benefit which is about to begin under Medicare for more than eight years. For people who hate to pay taxes I hope you all enjoy the fact that $500 billion a year of your tax dollars are going to pay interest which buys us nothing and 40% of that is going to countries like China.

Woo! Lets see if I followed this thread right...
Economy bad, wages not keeping pace... disproven
Housing too expensive for even middle-income people... disproven
RAH RAH NATIONAL DEBT!

So typical.

Yes there are people that are better off as I have said. The truth is that if housing has increased 20% in one year and take home pay has not, MOST people trying to purchase a home are worse off. The $ .70 increase in gasoline is taking money from the average person that would have been used for other things. The increase in healthcare is creating the same problem as the increased cost of gasoline for anyone that needs to see the doctor. It will also drive up health insurance rates as the company's pay higher claims. even Bush acknowledged problems with the jump in energy and health care costs are causing in this country. At the signing of his giveaway to big oil companies ( energy bill) he acknowledged there is no quick or mid-term fix for high oil prices. He refused deal with the most important thing we could have done to reduce the demand for oil and therefore lower prices which is to require SUVs and other vehicles that are produced and sold in this country get higher miles per gallon. He stressed how important conservation was in other parts of the bill and refuses to deal with the biggest waste of oil which is the internal combustion engine.

Whenever col is proved wrong he goes back to his tired arguement about the deficit.