Bush says the $3.70 a day he thinks wages rose by this year will bring a family of 4 holiday cheer

[bigtree]

December 16, 2006

Bush's Radio Address

Bush: "America's working families also received another bit of holiday cheer this week: We learned that real hourly wages rose by 2.3 percent over the past year. That may not sound like a lot, but for the typical family of four with both parents working, it means an extra $1,350 for this year."

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/12/20061216.html

[Nickster]

1. Hmmmm, what was that inflation rate again......2.8%......hmmmm n/t

[originalpckelly]

10. These numbers are adjusted for inflation, here is the DOL summary:

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/realer.nr0.htm

But dumb fuck's speech writer was off by .3%

That doesn't cover the poorest of the poor, whom continue to work in a large number of states, at the same minimum wage. Actually, for the poor, their real income fell by 2% since last November.

(CPI: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm "The November
level of 201.5 (1982-84=100) was 2.0 percent higher than in November 2005.")

Actually, I bet most Americans have received no more than a 50 Cent raise.

What's really happening is that the top income groups are skyrocketing so fast that they account for the millions of people whose wages have actually fallen in real terms.

[Roland99]

34. Trouble is, TRUE inflation is MUCH higher than is reported >>>>>>>

http://www.shadowstats.com/cgi-bin/sgs/article/id=343

There now are three major CPI measures published by the BLS, CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) and the Chained CPI-U (C-CPI-U). The CPI-U is the popularly followed inflation measure reported in the financial media. It was introduced in 1978 as a more-broadly-based version of the then existing CPI, which was renamed CPI-W. The CPI-W is used in calculating Social Security benefits. These two series tend to move together and are based on frequent price sampling, which is supposed to yield something close to an average monthly price measure by component.

The C-CPI-U was introduced during the second Bush Administration as an alternate CPI measure. Unlike the theoretical approximation of geometric weighting to a variable, substitution-prone market basket, the C-CPI-U is a direct measure of the substitution effect. The difference in reporting is that August 2006 year-to-year inflation rates for the CPI-U and the C-CPI-U were 3.8% and 3.4%, respectively. Hence current inflation still has a 0.4% notch to be taken out of it through methodological manipulation. The C-CPI-U would not have been introduced unless there were plans to replace the current series, eventually.

Traditional inflation rates can be estimated by adding 7.0% to the CPI-U annual growth rate (3.8% +7.0% = 10.8% as of August 2006) or by adding 7.4% to the C-CPI-U rate (3.4% + 7.4% = 10.8% as of August 2006). Graphs of alternate CPI measures can be found as follows. The CPI adjusted solely for the impact of the shift to geometric weighting is shown in the graph on the home page of www.shadowstats.com. The CPI adjusted for both the geometric weighting and earlier methodological changes is shown on the Alternate Data page, which is available as a tab at the top of the home page.

[SutaUvaca]

2. Fuzzy math rears its dim head again.

n/t

[opihimoimoi]

3. Bushies Basement Team are reaching for any good news they can conjur

These fuckers are deluded as is their boss.

[bigtree]

14. imagine the millionaires in the room deciding what bone to throw the peasants

all of them paid out of the hard-earned sacrifices which make up our contributions to government.

It's just sickening.

[opihimoimoi]

19. Yep, its all they do....make believe they doing sumpthin nice for us

while running to the bank/stock market with big bucks....

Its a Pub Scam and they want it to continue for as long as possible...drats...

Its pathetic and sickening...and beyond even...

[Sydnie]

4. which promptly went into our gas tank

to get us to that low paying job! (Or dropped at the grocery store for food stuffs that increased in price as well). But, according to him, Happy Days Are Here Again should be playing in the background at every holiday family gathering .... that is, if we can afford to travel to get together at all.

[jgraz]

5. Are you kidding? This is great!

Once you figure in taxes and inflation, these folks can almost certainly afford a round Grande Eggnog Lattes for themselves and their kids. Maybe even Venti if they watch their pennies during the year. That's 80 oz of holiday cheer right there!

[SOS]

6. Wages didn't rise, energy costs fell

Bushco has destroyed all wage gains since 2002:



From the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

[ClintonTyree]

7. Is that $1,350 adjusted for inflation?

If it's not then it's worth considerably less. Throw in higher energy costs, medical costs........ and that family of four is probably in a hole they'll never be able to dig themselves out of. Of course, they could each get another job or two, that's "uniquely American" according to the chimp in chief. :eyes:

[Donald Ian Rankin]

22. It's "in real terms" - I don't speak Economist, but I think that means it's adjusted.

On the other hand, it's not clear to me *whose* wages have risen by 2.3% - if that's an increase in mean national income or some such then it means very little without knowing how it's distributed.

On the other hand, the fact that he's talking about "wages" and "working families" may imply that it isn't, in which case it is good news.

[KitSileya]

29. I'm willing to bet it's doublespeak.

On the other hand, the fact that he's talking about "wages" and "working families" may imply that it isn't, in which case it is good news.

We've had over 6 years of experience deciphering his doublespeak, and usually when he says things like these, he uses 'working families' and 'wages' to make us think that it's only the lower classes he's talking about, but in reality, I bet he's taking these figures from statistics that include every darn CEO salary there is. In other words, the top 10% wage earners got a 10% gain, while the bottom 90% actually lost, but because the top 10% earn so incredibly much more than the bottom 90%, the numbers actually end up positive when talking about the average.

[bluerum]

8. Wow! $1,350 a YEAR! That is fabulous - for a third world economy.

That is $338 per year per person in a family of four. Lets see - that is ALMOST a dollar a day! Amazing!

Now I can buy an extra candy bar each day for each family member this winter! Those extra calories will be needed because I need to turn down the thermostat due to the ridiculous increase in the cost of heating my home.

Speaking of my home - my property taxes have nearly doubled in the past couple of years. That in itself more than wipes out the $1,350 but I still think those extra calories are worth it.

[pagandem4justice]

9. This is more important a story than many think

Granted, it's not as big at the moment as the SD Senator's recovery (thinking positive!), or the censorship of the CIA op-ed piece, but I think that the slow strangulation of the American working and middle classes is the biggest sstory of our lifetimes. The Chimperor flaunting these numbers in our faces during a time of year when many families are struggling to pay for fuel and heating, buy gifts for their children (who are awash in consumerism and just trying to be like "everyone else"), and maybe keep from running even further into credit card debt, is nauseating.
:mad: :puke: :grr:

Kicked and recommended.
:toast:

[originalpckelly]

11. Yes, indeed. The numbers are being distorted...

in absolute terms, the economy is getting better. However, in measurements of classes the percentage of growth is almost certainly higher.

[bigtree]

25. it's really a matter of WHO's economy we're talking about

in a land where 'productivity' is a measure of making folks work harder for less money, 'better' is almost never a measure of the lives of average Americans.

[bigtree]

18. if we ever needed proof that Bush doesn't have a clue about how Americans live

this is it. Did he even think twice about reading this? I don't think so.

[angstlessk]

12. does this include the 40 million bonus that bozo got? that would

increase the 'average' by about 500 per family?

[SammyWinstonJack]

17. He never mentions that while he's trying to make us peasants feel

good about the crumbs that his mis Administration throws out. If he were honest :rofl: he would tell his loyal listeners, many of whom are in the same leaky boat financially speaking right along with the rest of us, how much his base, the haves and have more have gorged themselves on.

[Union Thug]

13. Meaningless - if you account for health insurance (lack of), increases

in local taxes, reduction in services..

This means nothing. In fact, it's a slap in the face. Take your 1300 dollars and shove it up your ass.

It's like getting a jelly of the month club subscription when you should have received a bonus (ala Christmas Vacation/chevy chase)

[XemaSab]

15. Enough to buy a bottle of cheap wine

:D

[China_cat]

16. Did wages rise for anybody besides CEO's?

Ours haven't. We're still taking the same amount we were 2 years ago but this year my husband's health insurance is doubling and our homeowner's insurance is coming close to doubling so we'll be losing about $600 a month.

[Disturbed]

21. The Silverspoon Sociopath is full of pig's shit.

He Cheney and Rumsfailed should be in Federal Prison for at least 30 years.

[bigtree]

26. I wonder what their reaction would be if that was presented as THEIR wage 'increase'

thing is, they KNOW $1350. is a pittance, an illusion.

[Roland99]

32. Mine rose only because I switched jobs. Annual raises here are still 2-3%

mmm boy.

[Cleita]

20. I get a cost of living raise every year with SS, anywhere from $15

to $30, however my health care premium raises seem to be one and a half times the cost of living raise every year, so I actually end up with less. Also, if you haven't noticed that your grocery bill has increased, I assume because of the price of gas, you aren't paying attention. And oh yes, about those gas bills?

[uppityperson]

23. I LOVE statistics, more from his speech...

"We learned that real hourly wages rose by 2.3 percent over the past year. That may not sound like a lot, but for the typical family of four with both parents working, it means an extra $1,350 for this year. At the same time, our growing economy continues to create jobs and that has brought unemployment down to just 4.5 percent. These numbers give all Americans a reason to celebrate: More people are working than ever before, and paychecks are going further than they used to."

Breaking it down:
Hourly wages rose less than inflation.
Unemployment is down because people been out of work so long they are no longer eligible for unemployment benefits and aren't counted.
Paychecks are going further than they used to...being stretched further...since insurance costs more and pays out less you get to pay MORE for your healthcare, paychecks now going for more FOOD, paychecks are being stretched more, true.

[onecent]

24. He's such a moron!

[OhioChick]

27. hourly wages rose??

Then why am I getting pay cuts year after year just to keep my job?

[bigtree]

28. exactly

not to mention the cost of living. almost everything seems more expensive.

[leftofthedial]

30. the chocolate ration has been increased to 10 grams

thank you, Big Brother!

[bigtree]

31. no more cake?

[Vinca]

33. The entire amount for the year would pay for about 40 days

worth of substandard health insurance for my family. Wow . . . I'm so thrilled.

[bigtree]

35. if it actually existed

if there was actually an increase as he claims

[AllegroRondo]

36. thats AVERAGE wage increase

So if Bill Gates got a salary increase of $20 Million, and the rest of us got nothing, the AVERAGE wage still went up.