The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released data indicating that the American worker's share of the national income has sunk to a record low. In an article published by Yahoo, Zachary Roth actually put it that the workers' share has "plummeted," and, looking at the following chart on the subject, prepared by the St. Louis Fed, that is clearly a more apt description.
As Roth pointed out in his article, the decline began after 9/11 in 2001 and continued through the Bush years, accelerating significantly during the current economic decline that began in December, 2007.
It is not surprising that the wealthy enjoyed a rapid rise in their share of the national income during the recent recession and its continuing aftermath. They were unusually prepared for it with large cash positions going in, and the government bailouts in 2008 and early 2009 didn't hurt their overall liquidity one bit. The short story is they capitalized big time when the mother-of all-rummage sales in the financial markets took place in the spring and summer of 2009.
And, guess what? They have even more cash today, and it appears that we may be setting up the booths for another rummage sale to take place next year or even earlier. It's not a major leap to assume that the greedy ones have convinced themselves that any temporary reduction in their assets that might occur will be well worth the investing opportunities that will become available. And, after all, history strongly suggests that the markets will eventually recover and, when that happens, they - with their new investments - will have gobbled up another large piece of the income pie.
However, they tread on a slippery slope. A Brookings Institution report published in the 1930's concluded that one of the causes of the First Great Depression was a similar transfer of income and wealth. And, at that time, it took 25 years for the stock market to recover to the level that existed prior to the crash that initiated the depression.
It is imperative that those of us who live along Main Street come to the realization of what is happening in our economy. A close look at the above chart should be a very compelling start in this respect. It would then be even more important to identify the political problems that have allowed the situation to fester, as it has, and root them out like the cancers they are.
Time is running out.
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Comments: 70
Who is worse the ignorant and innocent, or the ones here who cast all the names and pretend to know better but spend their days prancing around talking about how right they are and how much insider BS they know from watching Inforwars.
The problem is that there is clearly no movement to build concensus or process facts. The only one I have seen and heard do this has been Robert Reich in his book "Aftershock" that mostly ignores party and class and focuses on what is wrong and how to fix it.
If you are not learning and lobbying for something like that or better, then you are contributing to the problem and need to jump right in with all the American folks you are calling ignorant.
I understand this as a big concentration of Wealth and Power in few hands, while most people will be forced to work more hours with fewer and fewer earnings and benefits.
Democracy flourishes where Wealth is evenly distributed and where humans can enjoy the benefits of the planet including these : Having Employment, Education and Health for their Children and Family, and some spare time.
But the trends that I see in your article and chart indicate exactly the contrary development. Most Americans are less powerful than their parents were once.
I see the Republican Plans for the Economy as Recipes for the disaster .... I just found an article about the Denial of Education in Texas as a recipe for Disaster. It was published by a very distinguished and experienced journalist and is scary.
I just commented "Do not read this if you don't like Catastrophe Movies".
Here it is in Gather.com :
The Texas Observer : Experts in Demography and Education say that the TX Legislature is denying the Future for Texas - Racist anti-Latino anti-Minorities anti-Poor TX Legislature makes big cuts in Education and Social Services while keeping Tax Loopholes for the Rich
Sometimes I hear funny remarks as "why should I work for being taxed when my boss pays less taxes than myself?"
If most of the people can't spend or just keep working for living and nothing else, the young generations will never contribute to help the older ones as they disregard presently any kind of social security premiums.
On top of it, the Billions accumulated by the pension plans are melting like ice cream under a Texan sun ... all of it in order to recover the power.
The GOP/TP is actively contributing to ruin the country, expecting that Dems will be charged for having not been able to recover the economy.
All of it because rich people and corporations fund their campaigns and often much more, while those who vote on the other side just "justify" outsourcing jobs.
I totally agree with you Gilbert.
My paliative for the day, that is an alleviator, a remedy that alleviates pain without curing.
All Democrats should help and try to register friends, acquaintances, etc ... as New Voters ... or give money for that purpose.
There are 8 ( eight ) million Latinos that are eligible as New Voters for Registration. If you just register only a share of that number then the reelection of President Obama is assured.
There are of course many other Minorities, White Youngsters and other Whites than can be registered as New Voters.
It is usually the Poor or Disadvantaged that are unregistered and Republicans are doing their best effort to avoid registration of new voters.
So that is my Palliative or Alleviator, to moderate pain.
The republicans are doing no such thing. They are trying to make sure voters aren't invented. Didn't you read about the ACORN fraud that had been going on.
As no rich will be "breaking stones" this is quite a good way to give all the other classes an ability to spend and consume.
In average 1 (one) tax dollar circulates about a MINIMUM of 7 (seven) times in a 12 months period! Often, as the credit goes on, this figures reach 11 (eleven) times!
I think politicians of all stripes are bought and sold with soft contributions. The system is corrupt in its entirety, controlled by the corporations that the supreme court has decided are citizens protected by constitutional guarantees.
I feel a little like pre-NBA Spike Lee..."Fight the power, We got to fight the powers that be"
The only real solution is to stop government giving money and special privileges to the rich- and to stop the government's regressive regulatory and inflation schemes.
Larry is right there is evidence deregulation started with Reagan...but the real enemy lies in the power of a private company called the Federal Reserve. For a private company the Federal Reserve is controlling our country. One has to question why people aren’t protesting outside their doors instead of the banks.
I do believe people are waking up; it is called the Tea Party. The Tea Party spans democrats, independents and republicans and want to hold the government accountable for fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government and free markets. Not the manipulated markets we have been dealing with.
This means that less "personal and individual" savings equals to more expenditures and, unfortunately, the pensions and other financial institutions HATE this idea. This why your comment about the FED is accurate!
So your statement is based on your own and dictated behalf while reality, as in Europe and Japan is testifying to the CONTRARY.
However I will provide you with the basis of my other source, which is available as well - maybe you will have to disburse some cash, is the IMF annual book.
But beware, you will be stating that they are lying to you (LOL)
So don't ask me ... just achieve your own DD!!!!!!!
There are graphs and charts, there are statistics, and you still catch them denying that Clinton left an annual surplus when he left office.
http://politicalirony.com/2010/11/27/the-truth-about-top-tax-rates/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+politicalirony+%28Political+Irony%29
What many seem to forget is that most of those bailouts came under the Bush administration. On November 30, 2008, before Obama came into office, the L.A. Times ran a most interesting article detailing the bailouts that the government had already committed to as of that date. They came to $8.5 trillion.
As mentioned, however Obama must deal with the perception even more than with the facts, and he will have to bear the responsibility for his lethargic response to the problem.
homeowners most of them with ARMs which has been "in some way confiscated" by the Fed as the banks took profit of such credit to enrich themselves.
What these charts reveal is the total control the wealthy/elite have on our political process, made possible by the so-called campaign finance system that provides a luxurious lifestyle to members of Congress and many others throughout the land. And, it's not only the dollars they receive, but the lobbying perks as well, most of which is courtesy of the capitalist establishment.
As I've said many times, there is no dividing line any longer between the wealthy/elite and our political system. It is all one entity, with money and perks flowing in one direction while favorable legislation and tax breaks flow in the other.
And - yes- it couldn't have been this way without the complicity of both parties (and the high court), although there are obvious differences in their respective allegiances.
I just finished watching the entire debate. This was a very good debate. Some important issues were brought up here and the answers very very good.
The Democrats are going to be in a bad position by not having debates, and letting this strong group of Republican candidates fill the media void, while a very weak Democratic President is going to for the next year get hit with constant criticism.
It is a major Democratic mistake to play hold'em and just sit tight running on the record of Barack Obama. Obama was clear when he was running that if the country was not significantly better off he would be a one-term President, but after a year playing President and living in the White House President Obama is insulated enough to think the right thing to do is to gamble the country on his re-election. My biggest criticism of Obama has been his judgement, and I think it is faulty.
The country is still in the biggest mess it has ever been in, and for Obama to think that he can retain credibility and tell us that he is the answer to this country's problems is bad judgement.
I would like to see Barack Obama be clear about what the country is facing, and like Lyndon B. Johnson, remove himself from the running in 2012. I think Barack Obama should do this now with integrity so he removes the possibility of being overcome by events and having to do it later, as well as giving a new crop of Democratic candidates a chance to fill the media space and counter what we are going to be hearing from these strong Republicans in coming months before the election.
What do you think ?
And isn't it amazing how many people (most of whom are presumably the very American workers whose share of the national income has been plummeting) insist that the solution is to do as much as possible to put more money into the hands of those who are already wealthy.
The softening-up process of the American worker is far from complete. I would like to think that, as it continues, a few of the ditto-heads will come to their senses every so often and that eventually the capitalist propaganda stations and programs will become ineffective. But that might be wishful thinking.
And, Bruce, I'm getting the feeling that you're Reich's biggest fan, and rightfully so. I would only hope that your efforts and those of others would encourage more people to read it and follow his interviews and other writings.
> funded during Obama's) which they blame on Obama.
This is true enough, but Obama did nothing to point this out or resist it, in fact even before the election he was quicker to go to Washington than McCain to get this bailout crap going, and even then he did nothing to track the money or place conditions on it. Obama to me is as bad as Bush.
Read the book, listen to the man, tell me if he does not make sense ... and if so, he puts the whole frickin' country and media to shame for trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the world and push this new version of fascism on the country and the world. Reich has not put it yet in that simple and direct, but everything he says implies it.
Republicans are just like the communists in China and Russia, they are trying to get rid of academics that do not support them by using the money system, and they are trying to turn a million corporate managers into political cadres to enforce the discipline of money control on everyone, which also includes health care, and pretty soon life or death.
Obama supports this system and must go. Americans really need to wake up.
There is no agreement that the happiness or humanity of everyone is important. America's latest sociological forces have been in selfishness. Everything in our media pushes us to think only of ourselves, and that pattern of thinking is reinforced in school, at work, in sports, in the media and most of our entertainment and even religions now.
The traits that built America were cooperation and group action, and somehow a small elite have been able to join and work each other and build a pyramidal hierarchy of power and wealth and have molded social norms to support their system.
There seems to be no fundamental agreement among Americans, or we have all been led to believe by a massive holographic media projection that all Americans agree on this competitive type of society based on toughness, meanness, abuse, a kind of macho society.
This is built on something sociologist at marketing expert Clottaire Rappaille has called the tendency of the reptile to always win - meaning that all differences between people if they can be magnified enough and inflamed emotionally will always lead to war. (my interpretation).
With the media we have today that we have all unknowingly let configure itself, coherent programming can now more than ever be beamed at any and all of us and predictions of behavior of large groups can be made. In the last election after the Republican brand looked as it was completely broken Barack Obama was expertly aimed at the Democratic and swing voters of the country to maintain a preserver of the corrupt status quo.
What is needed is a new way to look at the world, and a new understanding that everyone should have a realistic and fair place in our society.
An old problem - Hamlet "To be or not to be" (To be or to appear) - enhanced by our present media system.
Democrats need to step up and if they are going to criticize Republicans for being greedy, then they have to stop being greedy themselves and work for the good of everyone. So far, Democrats, Liberals, talk and argue, but they cannot get together and cooperate.
The gap keeps growing between the poor and the rich. The middle class buffer is becoming less and less. We know what happened in the past when the middle class prospered and then hard times and the the wealthy continued to party ... revolution.
It has happened before.
yet we hear unqualified about the sanctity of life even as we bloew innocent civilians up all over the world.
yeah ... crazy times.
Both parties have done a great (sarcastic emphasis there) on narrowing the tax base to simply upper and middle class. Even with inflation, the actual amount of work needed to live fairly comfortably has gone down. Entertainment is cheap and flashier by the day.
None of that bodes well long term for any sort of a classical (not modern liberal) society. Think Idiocracy the movie for a grimly humorous idea of such a future.