Trickle down is a failure
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert...usaolp00000592
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I checked the math--I get per capita adjusted net income up 80.4% from 1977 to 2012. That is in constant dollars--the inflation not counted.
Now maybe a reasonable expectation of income distribution would have income for the masses up less than 80%. But how much should John Q.Public expect as a part of the growth pie? If your answer is 'more than nothing,' you're talking about how things used to be, back in the last century. Real household income has been essentially flat since 1999, while real GDP per capita, despite the Great Recession downturn, has shown great growth. Here's a graph that shows the whole thing. (You'll have to blow it up to read it, but it's just what we're talking about. Graph only goes through 2009, so the 'recovery' of GDP isn't on it.) Found it at http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/20...mericans/?_r=0 http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/...t3-blog480.jpg This is solid data, from the Census Bureau. Trickle-down dried up entirely in the year 2000. The economy just is not working for the benefit of the people, that's all. |
Anyone who thinks we DON'T have more spending cash is crazy! Look around - how much crap do you have? How much did we used to have?
Pete |
Individuals can gain as they advance their careers, but we're talking the average of everyone together. What you see in your living room doesn't trump what the Census Bureau finds when it adds up everybody's 'living rooms.'
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Do you know any poor folks DQ? I'm just asking.
Back when I lived in the hood a heat wave brought everyone outside, and cars were not rare but, hard to come by? Now the streets are almost deserted in a heatwave - many folks have AC - and there are far more cars. And the average new home SF is way, way more nationwide. The bad news is, there doesn't seem to be government cheese anymore and good Ohio grown sensi is gone. Plus computer controlled cars. There's always a down side :o Pete |
Btw DQ I don't mean to be so contrary all the time, I just disagree with all yous on just about everything!
Maybe agree on a drink. On me. Pete |
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A lot of poor people don't have AC. And those that do generally have a piece of shit window unit that uses twice the electricity that it should. As for those big new McMansions that are bringing up the average square footage, poor people don't live in them. They live mostly in shitty little dumps that were built 50 or more years ago. I can go over to the poor side of town and take some pictures and post them if you don't believe me. And that doesn't count all the poor people that are living in their cars, or bunking down in some vacant lot behind a shopping center, http://www.portlandrescuemission.org...omeless-sleep/ Quote:
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Poor people tend to live in smaller houses? Stop yanking my chain.
Pete |
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Raising large families was the "thing" back then. Our generation is more obsessed with material possessions. "Things" seem to have become more important to us than people. Though I am just as guilty as anyone, I believe this is our shame and the root of many of todays problems. Ask yourself this; "How many people do I know that struggle just to keep food in their bellies and a roof over their heads than did when I was a kid?" For me, this represents a number I regard as far too high. I am currently reading "Losing Our Way" by Bob Herbert. There is a line in the book that rings true from my experiences; (Paraphrased) "It seemed that so long as he worked hard and kept his nose clean, a young man could find rewarding work at a local factory and start a family, almost straight out of high school. Then, at some point a couple had to bring in a second income in order to maintain the same decent standard of living. Over the last 15 years or so, this has declined to a situation wherein millions of Americans work, many working multiple part time jobs and find themselves in need of public assistance anyways." We may differ somewhat on our notions of how we arrived at this state, but neither of us can deny that we as a nation, have. And, I think we can both agree that it is, or at least should be, unacceptable. When did we lose the belief that Americans could find a better way than this? When did we resign ourselves to the idea that life, for so many people, is just going to suck and that's just how it is? I don't know about you, my friend. Bu I have lost sleep wondering about this. It really does make me that sad. Dave |
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