Incomes Declined In 2011 For Fourth Straight Year For full article and graphs http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/12/incomes-declined-in-2011_n_1877323.html?utm_hp_ref=business WASHINGTON -- Household incomes declined for the fourth straight year in 2011, the U.S. Census Bureau announced on Wednesday, in another reminder of the economy's failure to recover from the worst recession since the Great Depression. In its annual economic snapshot, the Census Bureau reported that the median household income -- half of Americans made more, half made less -- fell 1.5 percent to $50,054 last year, using inflation-adjusted dollar amounts. Incomes have fallen 8.1 percent since 2007, the year before the Great Recession got started (it ended halfway through 2009). Doug Walter of Ivyland, Pa. spent most of his career earning between $55,000 and $60,000 a year working in the parts and service departments of car dealerships. "I was an average middle-class white guy," Walter, 45, said in an interview. In 2009, many car dealerships closed as the American auto industry plunged into bankruptcy. Walter and his wife both became unemployed. "It sucked," he said. After two years of joblessness, Walter finally gave up on finding a new job, so he started his own business -- a consignment store in Warrington, Pa. "Couldn't find [a job], so I made one," he said, adding that the business has supported itself but not turned much profit so far. "I'm hoping that by the end of this year or beginning of next, I'll be able to structure a salary for myself." Walter said he expects to earn something somewhere near the poverty line this year, which the Census Bureau set Wednesday at $23,201 for a family of four. Not what he used to make, but better than nothing. And not unusual: Most workers who have become re-employed after losing long-held jobs in the past three years have found themselves earning less money than before, the Labor Department said in August. According to the National Employment Law Project, 60 percent of the jobs lost in the Great Recession paid middle wages, while the 58 percent of the jobs created in the recovery pay low wages. Persistently high unemployment is helping keep wage growth down. Scott Pickard of Long Beach, Calif. said he is earning $8,000 less than his $78,000 former salary following a three-year unemployment spell he described as devastating. "When I hit three-year mark, that was rock bottom," he said. "I was not having very healthy thoughts." Pickard, 50, said he kept his sanity and eventually found work in April as a staff training specialist at a local university thanks to relentless networking and frequent meetings with other unemployed people. "If I were sitting in front of a computer and just sending out resumes," he said, "I would have gone nuts." Pickard stressed that he considers himself to be much better off than some others, saying his income reduction is marginal compared to losses suffered by people he knows. Of course, he would have been better off without the long unemployment spell. "To the extent that had I not been laid off and would have continued in my career without the interruption," he said, "I would probably be making six figures at this point."
6 in 1 hand, half dozen the other....:icon_confused: It all depends on where you live and what your trade is...etc..
Numbers is numbers. A loss is a loss, not 6 of one.... Agree that some segments are doing better than others but the aggregate income loss is still the same. We've lost 12.8 trillion dollars of value in the past 6 years. That has to manifest itself someplace.
Ya but where and what were the effects?? Those answeres will never be revealed For all I know or we know ....250,000 people coulda left the country and left their jobs, threw the numbers way off, who knows? nobody ever will I just personally hate to death these kinda bullshit articles that get the country all bunched up in the ass, mainly cuz they have zero facts to support the topic.........instead they have a guy saying "it sucks" how eloquent ....:rofl6: Sounds like a huffington post move
What a fuckin greedy society!! I remember when gas was 25c and diesel was 11c a gallon. Shasta pop was 15 for a buck. Pot was 10 dollars a four finger bag stuffed. 100 dollars was four shopping carts of food stuffed. Now your lucky to get that much in one bag. My parents house where I grew up was 15,000 new! The 50,s were a great time to grow up. People could afford to live. Ever wonder how come the costs have gotton so out of hand and why? t6
More interesting, imo, is how much wages have declined (in inflation adjusted dollars, etc...) over the last 10, 20, 30 years. Afaik, the middle class is basically disappearing, while the rich get richer and people classified as low income continue to increase, but the better view is the long-term trend, not just the last four years. :danger:
CC-It manifests itself in a shrinking middle class, higher levels of underemployment as reflected by U6 statistics (those unemployed + those underemployed due to outside influence. Currently around 16%), greater personal debt in ratio to savings and periodic economic "bubbles" as investment capital seeks quicker rewards because long term market plays are no longer as lucrative. Couple that with increased access by the wealthy to government lobby and Keynesian Democratic (and some wishy washy repubs) policies? We'll my friend, you've just set the table for higher taxes for everybody and less representation for all while government, and everything it subsidizes, continues to grow at exponential rates. You guys slay me with the rationals to vote Obama. Just tell it like it is. He's your guy and you'll hold your nose and vote for him. Better a shitty Dem than a shitty Repub in your eyes.
Here is a statistic... A few of my best clients went out of business which drastically cut into my income. I could not replace those clients because it seems almost all businesses are cutting back or down-sizing or just going out of business and there is becoming an over abundance of unemployed people trying to get into what I do at a discounted rate. It got so bad that I had to shut down my business and go to work for one of my competitors, making about 1/3 of what I was making a couple of years ago. Of course they are happy because I brought over my remaining clients that are now their clients. On top of that, the company my wife worked for went out of business and she was unemployed for a while. Now she is doing part time work because that is all she can get. I must say, though, her part-time work actually pays more than my full-time work. So, with all that we are making about half of what we were making 5 years ago. We are making enough to pay the bills and get by, but it sure was nice having some extra cash to travel, go out, and stuff some into savings. So, yes... I will say, "It sucks."
I'll start with that I saw this decline in my industry way before Obama come into play. I went from making 2k in a month off of tips in the restaurant industry to shit in no time fast. But, my decision to probably vote Obama goes beyond justification, it is strategy. Gary is done nationally. He couldn't get into the debates and most of Americans don't know who he is. I doubt that he could even make a tie breaking vote in the end. Locally, I am basically voting independent because I can know the people better and they actually have a chance of winning. I would take almost anyone except Romney.
I love America, but this is why I can't even dream about moving back. I have good work. I work for myself doing an easy job making decent money. I checked the want ads when I was back home, almost nothing. I was very surprised at how few ads there were. I asked my buddy about any kind of manual jobs. He said there was nothing. He is always looking for extra work besides his job because it doesn't pay enough, even with his wife's income, to buy a house, and he can't find anything. I dream about moving back all the time. My mom says, "Stay there. Count your blessings."
I guess its that im blinded by how available quality jobs are in Pittsburgh Its simple to get a $$35-70k job here in no time as long as your not a complete idiot
I think the banks, oil companies and insurance companies are the straw through which money is sucked from the middle class to the executive aristocracy. Those who are doing well want things to stay the same. Those who are feeling the suction say, well, it sucks. The problem is the game as played at the highest level is rigged. It's not fair when you can buy the law you want (aka lobbying). It would be like playing a game of monopoly and midway through your opponent announces a new rule that in fact means HE WINS, though the new rule is thinly disguised as necessary or virtuous. Capitalism, unrestrained, means he who has the most money wins.
