The Staggering Collapse of Living Standards in the US -- 92% of Americans Unhappy with the Economy

[marmar]

via AlterNet:



Center for Research on Globalization / By Hiram Lee

The Staggering Collapse of Living Standards in the US -- 92% of Americans Unhappy with the Economy
Recent studies shed new light on the scope of the economic crisis in the US and the level of hostility the majority of the American population holds for the US government.

April 26, 2010 |


A series of recent studies conducted by the Pew Research Center shed new light on the scope of the economic crisis in the US and the level of hostility the majority of the American population holds for the US government.

Released in March, before the passage of the Obama administration’s health care legislation, a survey entitled “Health Care Reform—Can’t Live With It, or Without It” indicates that 92 percent of Americans give the national economy a negative rating. No fewer than 70 percent of the respondents report having suffered job-related and financial problems in the past year, an increase from 59 percent the year before. Fifty-four percent report someone in their home has been without a job and looking for work in the past year, up from 39 percent in 2009.

The poll saw an aggravation of conditions in every area of economic life studied the year before. Increasing numbers of people are reporting difficulty receiving or affording medical care (26 percent) or paying their rent or mortgage payments (24 percent). More Americans faced problems with collections and credit agencies (21 percent), or had mortgages, loans or credit card applications denied (19 percent).

As could be expected, the poorest Americans are suffering the most. Some 44 percent of those making $30,000 per year or less report difficulty obtaining medical care, compared to 11 percent of those making $75,000 per year or more. A similar gap can be found in the category of rents and mortgages, with 37 percent of those making $30,000 or less reporting difficulty making rent or mortgage payments, compared to 11 percent of those making $75,000 or more. However, the percentage of those facing difficulties paying rent has increased dramatically for both groups since 2009. .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/economy/146630/the_staggering_collapse_of_living_standards_in_the_us_--_92%25_of_americans_unhappy_with_the_economy

[xchrom]

1. Recommend -- you would think there would be

A serious Movement to be built out of those numbers.

[AnneD]

2. I think this is part of the......

underlying reason of the Tea party movement, in addition to some of the social changes happening.

The Dems were given a chance to work on these problems and frankly, they've screwed the pooch.

If the Insurance Co and Wall Street aren't screaming about the reforms, it isn't.

[ixion]

3. That's the most accruate number, judging by the people I talk to

some with money, some not. The theme is common, though: The economy sucks.

It sort of reminds me of an accident where a person gets pinned against a tree by their car. Mortally wounded, the pinning is the only thing keeping them alive. As soon as the car is removed, they will die.

The meltdown in 2007 was the crash, and we've been pinned against the tree since then. The car is still in place, and as soon as it's pulled back, we go down. This is, of course, why no one wants to talk about the car, or pulling it back. We'd rather live in collective denial and set up housekeeping around the wreck and call it 'recovery'.

It's delusional, of course. Eventually -- inevitably -- the car will pull back from the tree and we feel the real brunt of what occurred.

That's when the healing can begin.

[proudohioan]

4. What a wonderful analogy!!!!!!

And you are absolutely correct; the healing can only begin when the car has been pulled back.

[The Traveler]

6. You have captured the essence of the situation.

I agree with another on this thread ... great analogy. And I think it very accurately describes where we are today.

Trav

[chill_wind]

11. A very compelling analogy!

[Larry Ogg]

27. Very good analogy except for one thing

What the elites have done, along with their corporations and their hand picked politicians that we get to vote for, is no accident...

[ejpoeta]

5. i think it really hurts when your wages aren't increasing, but the cost of everything is....

like health insurance.... the cost has increased every year and wages have not. no raise. my husband hasn't gotten a raise in three years. we don't make that much... bob gets $40k a year with overtime and availability pay. it's a lot for us, though. more than we had before. but it just gets to you when you find an equal balance between how much you make and a decent life and then there's another tax. or fee. for people who are just getting by and maybe have a few extra dollars you can feel like there is someone trying to take those few extra dollars too. if we didn't have our house paid off we'd be screwed right now.

[izquierdista]

7. And you are the fortunate ones

...to have your house paid off. Many, many more are in your situation plus they have a house payment -- for a house that is "under water".

[ejpoeta]

8. oh i know how lucky we are. i am so grateful that we did things the way we did.

i have family members who are really struggling right now. if we didn't have our house paid off we would be in such a different situation than we are

[unabelladonna]

10. same here...

husband and i are retired in florida. we sold our large paid off house on LI and bought a smaller one with cash in florida. we never lived above our means and i know we're fortunate to have peace of mind. however, i saw people buy mcmansions in NY and always wondered how they could afford them....well they couldn't. and these weren't stupid people. i don't know what to call them.

[ejpoeta]

12. i think it's a couple of things..... first, they think they deserve to live in a house that big

and tell themselves they NEED a house that big. second, there are people telling them they can afford these things and should have them. we don't live in a fancy house. we bought a doublewide and moved it to our property. we took our tax money and paid loans off one at a time because we had a personal loan to buy the doublewide and to move it. It's tough when you see people with fancy cars and nice things and you don't have any of those things.... but it was worth it. what good is a big fancy car if you are living in it!!

[OhioChick]

9. Rec n/t

[Doctor_J]

13. 92% of Big Media personalities are happy though

that's more important.

[unabelladonna]

15. ...you forgot about our public "servants"

they haven't got a care in the world. if they're not reelected some idiotic corporation will buy (i mean hire) them. they get pensions for life (and i think medical care). they are the new elites.

[Knight Hawk]

18. O YES!

And it is not just our top "public servants" ,quite frankly most people who work in government whether it is city,county,state or national are now better off than the average working Joe and Jane.They may as much or more money,generally work less,have better vacation ,holiday ,sick day packages,more secure and better pensions .We will never get out of the hole we are in without drastically cutting back on the money we pay for these "hard working" public servants.

[dotymed]

22. The "private sector" is not regulated

so they can screw you harder than the organized (Unionized) civil servants. Not the elected thieves.

[WinkyDink]

23. And union-haters can go hang.

[dotymed]

24. Just like the teabaggers.

It is amazing that people act directly against their own good. Unions have been responsible for every piece of legislation that has allowed employees some voice in their working life. Many died for it. Yet, the wealthy propagandize the average worker and convince them that Unions are evil and the root of all of our problems. These uninformed people believe every word.
I worked non-Union for 1/2 of my working life, and I believed the propaganda too. When I finally joined a Union, my family's life improved dramatically. The work was harder as a Union carpenter, but we had insurance and a living wage. Guaranteed overtime pay...etc... and the corporations still made great profits. Until Americans (and their corporate owned politicians) allowed the corporations to keep all of the profits and use them as slaves...

[dotymed]

25. Support Unions

What you say about our "civil servants" should make you think. Yet, you are advocating bringing them down to your(?) level, instead of lifting yourself. The civil servants are still underpaid, at least the non-political appointees. Yet, the private sector employees have shunned Unionization (collective bargaining) and as a result, watched their money go to higher profits for the wealthy. Why would you encourage lowering everyones standard of living, instead of raising it? Tax the wealthy. Join a Union. Elect representatives who put people before profits. Don't destroy what is left of America, fight for the restoration of fair wages and benefits for all. Please think about this from a different angle. Corporations should pay dearly for outsourcing. Look at the economies of the other "top 20 countries." Most (almost all) have great worker pay and benefits. That is what makes them at the top.
You are advocating for America to become a "third world" nation, instead of improvements for workers (and more jobs) you are calling for worsening the plight of workers. Civil servants have not fallen as fast as the private sector because they have stayed Unionized. Their real wages have fallen also, just not as fast as the "private sector", for profit corporate worker. Lift all boats instead of sinking them, for the profits of the wealthy.

[unabelladonna]

28. i wasn't advocating that unions be eliminated

my gripe is with our elected public "servants" who are set for life.

[JohnWxy]

14. recommended

[BlueJazz]

16. So a large share of the Population is unhappy with the Economy ??? Tough Shit...

...to the 47-52 percent of the population that keeps voting for the Republicans.
These same people voted for GWB twice and now they are unhappy??

In spite of the fact that you Fucked it up for the rest of us and caused untold misery on the innocent, I hope the Country and the
world becomes a happier place to live...in spite of your numb-skull voting preferences.

[troubledamerican]

17. Don't blame the Arch-fascist Ultra-wealthy, just because they engineered the collapse.

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/08/bear_stearns200808

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/13/AR2008021302783.html

[lutherj]

19. If we as a society were willing to sacrifice the top 1% --

you know, we could make a kind of Mayan ritual out of it with incense and nice costumes and call it a religion -- we could redistribute all that wealth and it would double everyone's standard of living.

[spicegal]

20. People should be upset, but this didn't just happen in the last 15 months.

It's the result of 30 plus years of Reaganonics. The middle class is being systematically hollowed out while the wealth has been redistributed upward. Manufacturing jobs are virtually gone. The sad state of the working/middle class is directly attributable to years of Republican/conservative policies that have destroyed safety nets and depressed wages. In the meantime, everything else has become more expensive and consumerism is rammed down our throats. People refuse to accept the fact that taxes will have to go up to pay for this mess. It saddens me to think how much better off we'd be if the SCOTUS hadn't seen fit to appoint Boy George as president.

[dotymed]

21. In America, 80% of the population

owns only 3% of the wealth. America has the WORST distribution of wealth in the WORLD. Tax the wealthy and the corporations just like we USED TO DO. Are the freepers saying America in the 50's, was "Socialist?"

[4dsc]

26. 30 years of failed conservative economic policies

Say no more.