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Economy
In reply to the discussion: STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Wednesday, 21 August 2013 [View all]Demeter
(85,373 posts)7. The White House's Economic Agenda: Obama Destroys the Middle-Class By Mike Whitney
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article35907.htm
According to a survey conducted by Gallup on August 15, 2013, Obamas Economic Approval rating has slipped to 35%. A full two-thirds of the American people are now dissatisfied with Obamas performance vis a vis the economy. The survey mirrors the results of an earlier poll (Aug 12) which found that a mere Twenty-two percent of Americans say they are satisfied with the direction of the country Three-quarters of Americans are now dissatisfied with the nations course. (Gallup)
The surveys show that people are finally beginning to realize that Obama has been an unmitigated disaster and that the propaganda about economic recovery is just meaningless hype. To underline how bad things really are, consider this:
The only jobs being created under Obama are low-paying service sector positions that dont pay enough to meet the rent. Which is why a record number of young people are living at home. Have you seen this?
Dont kid yourself, its nearly as bad for college grads. The only difference is that after youve wracked up $40,000 or $50,000 in student loans, you can proudly display your sheepskin on the wall in your Dads attic where you spend your days combing the internet for jobs that no longer exist in the good old USA.
And another thing: The only reason unemployment has gone down at all is because so many people have stopped looking for work altogether and fallen off the radar. If the BLS counted these lost souls, wed be looking at 11.2% unemployment instead of the bogus 7.4 percent figure. But who cares what the numbers are at this point. What matters is that the economy stinks, and the smiling idiot at the top deserves a lot of the credit for that.
Did you know that according to the National Institute on Retirement Security, 45 percent of working-age households have no retirement savings at all? On top of that, high unemployment and hard times have forced more and more people to dip into their 401Ks just to make ends meet, which means that things are worse than the numbers indicate. Has Obama made any effort to address the pension catastrophe facing baby boomers and Generation Xers in the years ahead?
Sure, he has. He appointed a commission of deficit hawks (Bowles-Simpson) to figure out clever ways to cheat people out of their Social Security. Thats why Obamas approval rating is circling the plughole, because people are finally wising-up to what a phony he is. Check this out from Dean Baker:
Amen, to that, Dean. And have you noticed the strong growth surge under Obama?
No, of course not, because there hasnt been one. The second quarter (Q2) GDP just clocked in at a miserable 1.7 percent, most of which was due to an unexpected uptick in inventories. Absent that, GDP would have been below 1 percent which would be an embarrassment for anyone except the narcissist in chief. Get a load of this from Nick Beams at the WSWS:
Astonishing! Under 1 percent GDP for the last three quarters. What a joke.
The reason the economy isnt growing is because the people in charge dont want it to grow. Its that simple. I mean, how hard is it to boost GDP: You spend a little money, you run up the budget deficits and Viola, the economy grows! It aint rocket science. What Obama and his paymasters want, is a subtler form of structural adjustment. (Subtler than the Euro-model, that is.) This is typical of the Democrats; theyre always trying to prove they can implement the same hard-right policies with more finesse than their blundering counterparts. But it all amounts to the same thing, doesnt it? Everyone knows that the middle class is getting clobbered while all the gravy is flowing to the parasites on top.
MORE VITRIOL AT LINK
.........................................................................
I'M NAMING THIS "THE GREAT WINNOWING".
THE PLAN (AS I HAVE DEDUCED IT) IS TO KILL OFF A LARGE PORTION OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE BY STARVATION AND DENIAL OF MEDICAL CARE. IT'S MORE SUBTLE THAN EXTERMINATION CAMPS, LESS EXPENSIVE THAN A SHOOTING WAR, LEAVES LARGE FORTUNES INTACT. IT'S POVERTY, ON STEROIDS.
WHY THE AMERICAN PEOPLE? I HAVE A THEORY...
WHY DID YOUR ANCESTORS AND MINE COME TO AMERICA? BECAUSE THEY HAD THE GUMPTION TO BREAK WITH THEIR PAST AND DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT...THOSE THAT WEREN'T DRAGGED IN CHAINS, THAT IS. THE SLAVES WERE SUPERIOR GENETICALLY BECAUSE THEY COULD SURVIVE THE SLAVE SHIPS AND THE BRUTALITY OF SLAVERY, SO THEY ARE ALSO FAIR GAME.
AND EVEN AFTER MULTIPLE GENERATIONS, THAT INDEPENDENCE AND DRIVE STILL EXISTS IN TOO MUCH OF THE POPULATION. AND THEIR DESCENDANTS HAVE THIS QUASI-RELIGION ABOUT "RIGHTS" AND "LIBERTIES" AND "EQUALITY" AND SO FORTH.
IT DIDN'T HELP THAT IMMIGRATION KEEPS BRINGING IN NEW BLOOD, EITHER.
SURE, THE DRUG TRADE HAS MUTED A LOT OF THIS, AND THE CANCERS DUE TO SLOPPY ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION, AND THE CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPPRESSION. WE'RE BREAKING DOWN THE WHOLE-CLASS EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM EVERY WAY POSSIBLE, AND BREAKING THE NEW DEAL, BUT IT WON'T BE ENOUGH TO CULL THE "USELESS EATERS" WHO AREN'T NEEDED TO LABOR IN MANUFACTURING OR GOVERNMENT OR ANYTHING....
BECAUSE WE 1%ERS WANT OUR FAIR SHARE...WHICH IS ALL OF IT! DAVID KOCH SAYS SO, SO IT MUST BE TRUE! WEALTH AFTER ALL IS THE SIGN OF GOD'S FAVOR AND ONE'S INNATE SUPERIORITY...
According to a survey conducted by Gallup on August 15, 2013, Obamas Economic Approval rating has slipped to 35%. A full two-thirds of the American people are now dissatisfied with Obamas performance vis a vis the economy. The survey mirrors the results of an earlier poll (Aug 12) which found that a mere Twenty-two percent of Americans say they are satisfied with the direction of the country Three-quarters of Americans are now dissatisfied with the nations course. (Gallup)
The surveys show that people are finally beginning to realize that Obama has been an unmitigated disaster and that the propaganda about economic recovery is just meaningless hype. To underline how bad things really are, consider this:
Over the last six months, of the net job creation, 97 percent of that is part-time work, said Keith Hall, a senior researcher at George Mason Universitys Mercatus Center quoted by McClatchy Washington Bureau. Hall was head of the US Bureau of Labor (BLS) Statistics from 2008 to 2012.
Citing the BLS Household Survey, Hall said that over the past six months 963,000 more people reported that they were employed while 936,000 of them reported they were in part-time jobs. Hall continued, That is a really high number for a six-month period. I am not sure that has ever happened over six months before. (Report: 97 percent of new US jobs are part-time, World Socialist Web Site)
Citing the BLS Household Survey, Hall said that over the past six months 963,000 more people reported that they were employed while 936,000 of them reported they were in part-time jobs. Hall continued, That is a really high number for a six-month period. I am not sure that has ever happened over six months before. (Report: 97 percent of new US jobs are part-time, World Socialist Web Site)
The only jobs being created under Obama are low-paying service sector positions that dont pay enough to meet the rent. Which is why a record number of young people are living at home. Have you seen this?
Last year, a record 36 percent of people 18 to 31 years old roughly the age range of the generation nicknamed the millennials were living in their parents homes, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data.
And despite the frequent stories of recent college graduates stuck on their parents couches (or in their basements or above their garages), it is actually young people without bachelors degrees who are most likely to be living at home
. (Millennials, in Their Parents Basements, Catherine Rampell, New York Times)
Dont kid yourself, its nearly as bad for college grads. The only difference is that after youve wracked up $40,000 or $50,000 in student loans, you can proudly display your sheepskin on the wall in your Dads attic where you spend your days combing the internet for jobs that no longer exist in the good old USA.
And another thing: The only reason unemployment has gone down at all is because so many people have stopped looking for work altogether and fallen off the radar. If the BLS counted these lost souls, wed be looking at 11.2% unemployment instead of the bogus 7.4 percent figure. But who cares what the numbers are at this point. What matters is that the economy stinks, and the smiling idiot at the top deserves a lot of the credit for that.
Did you know that according to the National Institute on Retirement Security, 45 percent of working-age households have no retirement savings at all? On top of that, high unemployment and hard times have forced more and more people to dip into their 401Ks just to make ends meet, which means that things are worse than the numbers indicate. Has Obama made any effort to address the pension catastrophe facing baby boomers and Generation Xers in the years ahead?
Sure, he has. He appointed a commission of deficit hawks (Bowles-Simpson) to figure out clever ways to cheat people out of their Social Security. Thats why Obamas approval rating is circling the plughole, because people are finally wising-up to what a phony he is. Check this out from Dean Baker:
It is unfortunate that President Obama has proposed a budget that has substantial cuts to Social Security. The vast majority of seniors are already struggling. The proposed cuts would be a reduction in their income of more than 2 percent. By contrast, his tax increase last fall cut the after-tax income of the typical wealthy household by less than 0.6 percent
President Obama has accepted the agenda of the Washington elite, putting cuts to Social Security and Medicare at the center of his budget and offering little that will help to speed the growth of the economy and create jobs. (Obama Accepts the Agenda of Misguided Washington Elites, Dean Baker, CEPR)
President Obama has accepted the agenda of the Washington elite, putting cuts to Social Security and Medicare at the center of his budget and offering little that will help to speed the growth of the economy and create jobs. (Obama Accepts the Agenda of Misguided Washington Elites, Dean Baker, CEPR)
Amen, to that, Dean. And have you noticed the strong growth surge under Obama?
No, of course not, because there hasnt been one. The second quarter (Q2) GDP just clocked in at a miserable 1.7 percent, most of which was due to an unexpected uptick in inventories. Absent that, GDP would have been below 1 percent which would be an embarrassment for anyone except the narcissist in chief. Get a load of this from Nick Beams at the WSWS:
Over the past three quarters the US economy has grown at an annualized rate of only 0.96 percent, exposing the claims of the Obama administration that a recovery is underway. The fact that the US economy is able to achieve a growth rate just one sixth of the post-World War II average indicates that deep structural changes have taken place within the American economy and anything approaching previous growth rates will not be seen again. (US growth and jobs figures point to continuing economic breakdown, Nick Beams, World Socialist Web Site)
Astonishing! Under 1 percent GDP for the last three quarters. What a joke.
The reason the economy isnt growing is because the people in charge dont want it to grow. Its that simple. I mean, how hard is it to boost GDP: You spend a little money, you run up the budget deficits and Viola, the economy grows! It aint rocket science. What Obama and his paymasters want, is a subtler form of structural adjustment. (Subtler than the Euro-model, that is.) This is typical of the Democrats; theyre always trying to prove they can implement the same hard-right policies with more finesse than their blundering counterparts. But it all amounts to the same thing, doesnt it? Everyone knows that the middle class is getting clobbered while all the gravy is flowing to the parasites on top.
MORE VITRIOL AT LINK
.........................................................................
I'M NAMING THIS "THE GREAT WINNOWING".
THE PLAN (AS I HAVE DEDUCED IT) IS TO KILL OFF A LARGE PORTION OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE BY STARVATION AND DENIAL OF MEDICAL CARE. IT'S MORE SUBTLE THAN EXTERMINATION CAMPS, LESS EXPENSIVE THAN A SHOOTING WAR, LEAVES LARGE FORTUNES INTACT. IT'S POVERTY, ON STEROIDS.
WHY THE AMERICAN PEOPLE? I HAVE A THEORY...
WHY DID YOUR ANCESTORS AND MINE COME TO AMERICA? BECAUSE THEY HAD THE GUMPTION TO BREAK WITH THEIR PAST AND DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT...THOSE THAT WEREN'T DRAGGED IN CHAINS, THAT IS. THE SLAVES WERE SUPERIOR GENETICALLY BECAUSE THEY COULD SURVIVE THE SLAVE SHIPS AND THE BRUTALITY OF SLAVERY, SO THEY ARE ALSO FAIR GAME.
AND EVEN AFTER MULTIPLE GENERATIONS, THAT INDEPENDENCE AND DRIVE STILL EXISTS IN TOO MUCH OF THE POPULATION. AND THEIR DESCENDANTS HAVE THIS QUASI-RELIGION ABOUT "RIGHTS" AND "LIBERTIES" AND "EQUALITY" AND SO FORTH.
IT DIDN'T HELP THAT IMMIGRATION KEEPS BRINGING IN NEW BLOOD, EITHER.
SURE, THE DRUG TRADE HAS MUTED A LOT OF THIS, AND THE CANCERS DUE TO SLOPPY ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION, AND THE CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPPRESSION. WE'RE BREAKING DOWN THE WHOLE-CLASS EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM EVERY WAY POSSIBLE, AND BREAKING THE NEW DEAL, BUT IT WON'T BE ENOUGH TO CULL THE "USELESS EATERS" WHO AREN'T NEEDED TO LABOR IN MANUFACTURING OR GOVERNMENT OR ANYTHING....
BECAUSE WE 1%ERS WANT OUR FAIR SHARE...WHICH IS ALL OF IT! DAVID KOCH SAYS SO, SO IT MUST BE TRUE! WEALTH AFTER ALL IS THE SIGN OF GOD'S FAVOR AND ONE'S INNATE SUPERIORITY...
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