Posted by Tina
Americans have seen their income go down 8% since the end of the recession in February of 2009.
That means that President Obama’s economic policies to improve the economy have failed to cause an economic recovery. It means his policies have damaged the economy and ruined the household finances of most middle class Americans:
The average inflation-adjusted income for households in the middle 20% is now lower than it’s been since 1995, the census report found.
Meanwhile, another report released Tuesday finds that per-capita health costs jumped 4.6% last year, marking a turnaround from previous years, which had seen annual cost increases moderating. The Health Care Cost Institute report found that rising prices are a “major driver” of the cost increases.
And a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released this month found that the number of uninsured climbed 1 million in the first three months of 2012 compared with last year.
Other bad signs: The number of people on food stamps is up more than 220,000 in the first half of this year and up almost 12 million — or 34% — from June 2009 to June 2012.
The number of people in the labor force has fallen more than half a million in the past two months, with the participation rate down to 63.5%, a rate not seen in the past 30 years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.Almost 83,000 signed up for federal disability benefits in September, and more than 736,000 have joined in the first nine months of this year, according to the Social Security Administration. That’s a higher enrollment rate than the first nine months of the Obama presidency.
Yet the polls out today suggest that Americans trust the celebrity President more than they trust a businessman with a successful track record for turning failing businesses around and making them profitable! Apparently empty promises are enough to satisfy most voters!
OR…..
Pollsters are skewing polls to prop up the President in an atmosphere of growing disappointment and despair. It means that the media is rooting for Obama and attempting to discourage turn out for Romney.
No, we don’t love it. We’re just getting used to it. It’s just amazing, the adaptability of the average human being. And not in a good way.
On my nephew’s water bill it actually says that the water district does not recommend that you drink it. Do any of the customers make any kind of fuss? No. They drink the water, get cancers, and die.
“Pollsters are skewing polls to prop up the President in an atmosphere of growing disappointment and despair.”
Oh, I read about this: unskewedpolls.com, is actually attempting to prop up Romney in an atmosphere of growing disappointment and despair. Very creative, and a hoot.
But it has gone very, very quite, all of a sudden. The media will certainly try and make a fuss where there isn’t any. And I’ll bet that all the sensible citizens of Ohio have put the telly in the closet for the duration.
Oh, heavens. I’m psychic. The very next thing I read:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2012/09/26/romney_ryan_namecalling_stench_gilligan_details_in_simon_column_were_satire_.html
and here, a list of the gullible:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/rosiegray/some-people-didnt-really-understand-that-romney
I am disappointed in Mr. Krugman. Giggle.
I remember back in the 70’s there were several stationary stores in downtown Chico. There were also a few others around town. One by one they all closed up. They were all victims of the Big Box stores, that have overtaken the US. It’s so unfortunate that big corporations have killed these family businesses.
When Romney points to his ‘successes in job creation’ he is talking about low wage jobs at places like Staples, Burger King, Toys R us, Burlington Coat Factory, and so forth. We need to remember the number of local jobs he killed in the process.
I want a President who believes in American, not a guy who believes in hiding his money in The Cayman Islands, and creating jobs in China.
Yep, change is tough. I remember back in the late seventies when grocery stores decided to sell houseplants. Safeway can buy in bulk at a cheap price and distribute to their stores. I didn’t have that advantage in my small shop. Sales went down and eventually I moved on. Was I a victim? No! Life has many ups and downs and we get to adapt as things change. Life is risk my friend. It’s not what happens; it’s how you respond to what happens that counts.
Buggy whips are not a big item anymore…remember when we thought the eight track was going to be forever? Clock radios, cassette tapes!
They tell me the PC will be gone in the not too distant future.
Are you old enough to remember when the television you watched was a tiny screen with tubes in the back and always in black and white?
Soda fountains are not plentiful in America like they once were and barbershops aren’t either, although they seem to be making a comeback!
Things change.
You say you want a president who believes in America. You obviously don’t support Romney so that leaves Obama (none of the others are electable).
If this man gets your vote with his record after three years then all I can say is you have a very sad vision for America: sustained high unemployment, money wasted on programs and giveaways we can’t pay for, money spent on projects that failed, inflation that will get worse and make life hard for all kinds of people but especially the poor and the aged! Americans losing money and seeing little chance to remedy that.
The jobs created by Staples and Burger King don’t count according to you even though these are jobs that teens and college students often get. If Obama is so great why don’t we have a good economy with plenty of jobs not only for our youths but for everybody?
Unemployment for teens under Obama:
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/youth.nr0.htm
Romney knows how to bring these unemployment numbers down AND WITHOUT CREATING DEBT FOR TAXPAYERS IN THE PROCESS! He knows that we have to encourage businesses and entrepreneurs to risk. They will not do that when they are threatened by a hostile government (Obama).
If Romney was HIDING funds in the Cayman Islands why do we know about them! We know about them because the accounts were not hidden! The accounts are in the open. Accounts like this are used by many business people and people who travel frequently. They exist because it is easier to facilitate international transactions through banks in the Caymans.
What about Obama’s record…you can’t be pleased about that!
Obama failed to follow through on promises he made in 2008 regarding China:
http://www.gop.com/news/research/shipping-jobs-money-to-china-the-obama-record/
The record since then:
And what about the $2 BILLION in green jobs our stimulus money created in CHINA (See VIDEO):
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/green-stimulus-jobs-china-9791423
Obama is a rock star…a celebrity. He reads his lines and doesn’t give a fig about actually doing his job. Wake up Jim.
By the way, Staples pays people at the same rate as other stores of this type:
http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Employer=Staples%2c_Inc./Salary
Retail General Managers make $55,793.
Store Managers make $64,496
Staples is much more than a retail store check this out:
http://www.salarylist.com/company/Staples-Salary.htm
Americans cannot afford another four years of Obama.
Tina, I fail to see how your nostalgia for soda fountains counters Jim’s argument that Romney’s (aka Bain’s) promotion of mega-retail robs small business owners of a decent living, sending them off to take up residence in the parking lot of their new employer … Walmart.
This ain’t my vision for the future of America.
That’s because you and Jim have that victim mentality!
The business owner who loses his business, for whatever reason, is not stuck with only one option )in this case becoming an entry level employee at Wal-Mart).
The Staples story starts out with just such a predicament:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staples_Inc.
But…but…what if a small local retailer doesn’t want to create a bunch of chain stores? Then he has to come up with some other small business plan or change his profession. It might lead to something exciting. At the very least with his experience he would probably qualify for a managerial position at any of the box stores and that’s not so terrible.
All kinds of things can happen to put a business owner out of business. Those who consider the open window will do better than the guy who hangs his head and sits in the dark.
When our government doesn’t intrude excessively people work things out pretty well for themselves.
Bain is not in the business of hurting small business…just the opposite. It wasn’t just the box stores that changed main street…it’s been going on for decades now.
We know your vision Libby…everybody sharing misery equally with the golden goose dead in the pot!
“He needed a ribbon for his printer, but was unable to obtain one because his local dealer was closed for the Independence Day holiday.”
Oh how horrible, somebody closed his business to honor Independence Day. This is what is gone so wrong with America. Businesses should be closed on Independence Day, and Christmas, and SUNDAY. Hey, when I was a kid most stuff was closed on Sunday. People spent the day with their families, and friends. But not in the new corporate world order. Romney will have us working 24/7. No thanks.
You know … I’m starting to think I should be rooting for Boehner and his draconian budget balancing.
Some people need a real kick in the keister.
Jim you mistake republican thought for liberal extremes. It is democrats that compel everyone to do the exact same thing. They are all about rules and control! We still have small business in Chico…it would be good to have more medium sized business to support the smaller businesses!
I agree that businesses should close on Independence Day and celebrate…I doubt if the exact day had anything to do with the frustration this guy was feeling. Interesting though…you seem to look for the little dirty smudge in every silver lining…why is that?
Conservative believe in freedom, letting people decide for themselves how they want to work and live. I don’t see why small business and big business can’t both be exist. Big government does nothing for business, big or small. Spread the wealth policies will hurt small businesses first.
What Obama policies do you think have helped small business? Why do you think he is better for business?
Ever thought about moving? There’s a bunch of small towns in America that still live like you describe…it’s quite a culture shock but it does have its charm.
Here is one of the many reasons our household income is down.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/screaming-obama-supporter-explain-why-we-need-to-re-elect-obama-he-gave-us-a-phone-he-gonna-do-more/
who says there is not hope for change? Libby you hit the nail on the head with ‘I started to think’ “Tina rocks, you go girl”!
“What Obama policies do you think have helped small business? Why do you think he is better for business?”
I’ve never said that I’m pleased with Obama. Just everything tells me that Romney will be another GW Bush. Which is the last thing we need.
Jim can you tell me what policies George Bush had that you think were bad for small business?
Also what other choice is there but Romney?
News this morning indicates that Q3 wass good for the Obama campaign because it caused the stock market (big corporations) to go up.
But we know it also made our dollars worth less. Our economy grew at only just over 1% marking a recent slowdown. That’s not good for small business and it certainly isn’t good for main street and your average American citizen.
Libby I honestly hope you work in a ground floor office.
Toby on a totally unrelated note…I’ve been meaning to tell you…your campaign signs are fabulous!!!
Did you build that? 😉
I agree, have one in my yard and one in my neighbors.
Noted Economist Says You Should be Worried About Latest Durable Goods Report: Heres Why
Posted September 29, 2012 at 3:22 pm by Becket Adams
Hint: Recession.
Demand for durable goods (i.e. items that are expected to last for at least three years) is on the decline and a report released on Thursday shows that it has sunken to levels not seen since 2009 the height of the Great Recession.
The Commerce Department said Thursday that total durable goods orders fell 13.2 percent in August. Thats the biggest drop since January 2009 when the country was in recession. Aircraft orders fell by nearly 102 percent, pulling down the headline figure, the Associated Press reports.
Economists had originally predicted a decline of maybe 5 percent. Obviously, they were off by just a little.
U.S. manufacturing has weakened since the spring. Factories have been hurt by weaker consumer spending and slower global growth that has cut demand for U.S. exports, the AP adds.
Okay, so whats the big deal? Maybe we shouldnt read too much into the data, right?
Well, according to economist David Rosenberg, theres a part of the report that should raise some red flags. If you look at the three-month moving average* of non-defense capital goods orders (or core capex [capital expenditures] orders) excluding aircraft in Thursdays durable goods report, youll note that it was -4.1 percent in August.
(*A statistical method for identifying the direction of a trend.)
History shows when the trend weakened to the level we see today, the economy was in recession 100 percent of the time, Rosenberg claims in his latest Breakfast with Dave note.
Furthermore, as Rosenberg notes, not only is the durable goods report obviously bad news for the manufacturing sector, but it also means bad news for the job market. You see, as the following chart illustrates, theres an 83 percent correlation between core capex orders and jobs:
See charts and rest of story here:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/noted-economist-says-you-should-be-worried-about-latest-durable-goods-report-heres-why/