May 28, 2013
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What a Great Economy
Back in 1980, the U.S. national debt was less than one trillion dollars. Today, it is rapidly approaching 17 trillion dollars.
During Obama’s first term, the federal government accumulated more debt than it did under the first 42 U.S presidents combined.
More than 56,000 manufacturing facilities in the United States have been permanently shut down since 2001.
There are less Americans working in manufacturing today than there was in 1950 even though the population of the country has more than doubled since then
According to the Economic Policy Institute, the United States is losing half a million jobs to China every single year
Back in 1950, more than 80 percent of all men in the United States had jobs. Today, less than 65 percent of all men in the United States have jobs.
At this point, an astounding 53 percent of all American workers make less than $30,000 a year.
Back in 1983, the bottom 95 percent of all income earners in the United States had 62 cents of debt for every dollar that they earned. By 2007, that figure had soared to $1.48.
In the United States today, the wealthiest one percent of all Americans have a greater net worth than the bottom 90 percent combined.
According to Forbes, the 400 wealthiest Americans have more wealth than the bottom 150 million Americans combined
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 146 million Americans are either “poor” or “low income”
Today, more than a million public school students in the United States are homeless. This is the first time that has ever happened in our history.
When Barack Obama first entered the White House, about 32 million Americans were on food stamps. Now, more than 47 million Americans are on food stamps.
According to one calculation, the number of Americans on food stamps now exceeds the combined populations of “Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 49 percent of all Americans live in a home that receives direct monetary benefits from the federal government. Back in 1983, less than a third of all Americans lived in a home that received direct monetary benefits from the federal government
*All the text in bold above, are links to the sources of info.
Is the economy of the USA in good shape?
Comments (42)
A large part of the debt was amassed from fighting 2 global wars combined with massive tax cuts. Until recent memory, every previous war was financed through the sales of war bonds or raising taxes.
Automation is now a large part of manufacturing job losses. Increasingly, the United States cannot stay competitive to developing countries with regards to manufacturing. Those countries will always be able to have lower wages than far more advanced economies like the US.
Comparing the 1950s to today is kind of like comparing apples to oranges. We have a much more diversified work force nowadays due to gender equality. Far more women are in the workforce than in the 50s. I’m actually surprised that the number is not closer to 50%.
Income inequality is a HUGE issue in the United States. It is a growing problem and the rich will only get richer because they have access to financial instruments that allow them to live off of capital gains and provide tax shelters. This is why I never understood why people were against closing loopholes and raising taxes on the top 10%.
The statistics only tell part of the story. Manufacturing has given way to tech, research and services. Agriculture has changed. The demographics of the work force have changed. Americans generally speaking seek more leisure time and are less inclined to want to be productive. The entertainment industry is outpacing all others. The telecommunications and entertainment industries have become one big conglomerate of high tech pick pockets and the consumers wander into their territory with wallets and purses dangling freely.
Once Americans took pride in producing quality products and providing useful services, but these characteristics have given way to obtaining imitated wealth in the form of cheap (and disposable) products with little effort or investment of time. We are now a nation of deluded get rich quick idealists who refuse to give more than we take. Consider how many billions are spent in lotteries each year, many of these billions are spent by the very people who dwell in poverty.
We have attained a false sense of pride and entitlement based on the efforts and sacrifices of our forefathers (and mothers) and not of our own sacrifices and efforts. We have become a nation of litigation, oppression, abandonment and destitution, with all our hopes and dreams misplaced in our own overinflated sense of self worth.
It is not surprising that we have selected a government which caters to these distained principles and uses deception to promote dependence and discontent both.
This is the was a Socialist Person in Office tries to do things. Make everyone on the same playing field, and get the poorer poorer so he will do something to make him look good. We are so broke that it will take very person in the US 14 years at the current rate to pay back the debt.
And those that voted for Mr. O. H. Obama should be ashamed of themselves and stop calling themselves Americans. Bro. Doc
Still looking for the first post to blame it all on Bush.
Welcome to the new world order. It gets worse not better from here.
I remember back then. It was so bad because Ronald Reagan had yet to set the world on a quarter century of wealth creation beyond anyone wildest dream.
Obama is doing what any Democrat does: bleed every available ounce of wealth out of the economy and send it to himself and his friends.
I wish the low information voter, who thinks the federal government is anything more than an organized crime syndicate, would wake up and smell the coffee.
@davidian - That’s ridiculous.
You’re using the same old idiocy: blame Bush.
When does Obama start taking responsibility for his own policies?
When are the low information voters going to make the connection that Obama is in charge and everything that is happening is happening because Obama wants it to happen?
@RealisticIdealist - To say that outright takes guts,ignorance and bit of dishonesty
@davidian - The biggest increase in woman working is not with single women of widows or single mothers. They always worked. Its in maried woman with childern under 6 years old. Yeah sure that’s a good thing (sarcasm)
Those stats are incredibly depressing
I agree, and I disagree.
We’ve got a major problem. Americans, in the current job market, are useless. We’ve priced ourselves out of the manufacturing market by demanding higher wages, and better benefits for menial duties. You can’t exactly blame the president for big business outsourcing jobs, when your average plant worker wants to get paid $40K per year to stamp bumpers.
We need people to make more money. Americans need to be globally competitive, and accept that stamping bumpers and pushing a red button on a machine simply doesn’t pay as well as it used to. We need Americans to understand that racking up mountains of dept with student loans doesn’t necessarily make them competitive in the job market – and that rich people are not the cause of that. An environment which fosters growth of businesses, is what creates jobs. Not tax revenue.
We need industry, and businesses where Americans will have something to do. Attracting businesses (like we have here in Texas) by reducing tax burden and creating a healthy environment where businesses can thrive seems to work. The unemployment rate here is staggeringly low, there is NO state income tax, but somehow the state manages to have an excellent infrastructure, a budget surplus – AND some of the best schools in the country. Where California… doesn’t.
$40K strikes you as overpaid? I think you fine that it is not the $40K that hurts business its the fact after regulations taxes and forced insurances that $40K cost per employee is up to $80K and government then taxes the company for its land and profits . And now some lawyer finds reason to file suit
@ImNotUglyIJustNeedLove - Wow, sensitive? Did I mention Bush? I was actually speaking about Obama’s continuation of war mongering and his drone war policies. The simple fact is WAR COSTS MONEY. It’s not a liberal nor a conservative thought. Do you know how much a bullet costs? Do you know how much a flak jacket costs? Do you know how much it costs to develop the advanced weapon systems we have? How do you plan to finance all of these things? It’s not a conservative nor a liberal issue. It’s a basic math issue.
The US economy has been getting steadily worse for many decades now. At this point in time the US government is completely bankrupt and is still going full-speed ahead on the same policies that have caused all of the economic problems we currently face.
@davidian - Iraq has absolutely nothing to do with the Obama deficits.
@mrcolorful - oh those Keynesians, so optimistically driving right off of a cliff thinking that a divine wind is just around the corner to lift them up.
@ImNotUglyIJustNeedLove - Oh yes, I’m sure all the soldiers paid for their return ticket out of their own pockets. Along with the cost of shipping their tanks.
@davidian - The defense budget is about 3% of the GDP. The Obama arranged for $1 trillion each year to be siphoned off to his Democrat, Wall Street and union cronies.
Have you heard in the news about the two bridges that just collapsed. Obama promised his economic stimulus would take of that.
Obama is a complete disaster and the low information voter blames everybody and everything except Obama.
I am not so sure blaming Obama any more than blaming Bush is productive in any kind of positive political discourse. Now blame Congress, yes, I can accept that. Blame Obama, not as a representative Democrat as much as blaming the total disconnect the last 20 presidents have had as related to the common American family parents trying to protect their children’s future. This is a massive problem and effects a us all equally, Republicans, Democrats, every single one of us that cares for the next generation in America. You know there is not much difference between political parties anymore. Until the masses wake up to the fact that we truly are an Oligarchy wearing the face plate of a Republic whose ignorant incorrectly concludes we are a pure democracy things will keep getting worse. So sit back and enjoy the ride for things will not change and this is the new America. The reason the floodgates are wide open to the ignorant and uneducated is it is much easier to keep the corrupt in government when the ignorant will keep voting them back in power. So buckle up, strap in the seatbelts for there is not much that can be done now anymore than could have been done when the Nazis were rising in Germany. The only thing that could stop this would be the complete abolishment of the tax code and that ain’t gonna happen. Flat tax anyone?
Brother RobertLeeRE
The economy is slowly improving and has a long way to go.
If you’re a business hiring illegal immigrants, the economy is in great shape. If you’re an unemployed man over 50, not so much.
The baby boomers were hit hard due to unemployment or forced retirement in the last recession and their spending was a big part of the economy. Now a lot of them are having to cut back and that hurts the economy. Baby boomers were getting the biggest salaries and paying a lot of income tax. That’s changed.
If the libs had figured out a way to get business to hire the unemployed baby boomers, that would have helped the economy fairly quickly and eliminated a lot of pain. But they didn’t.
Ok, so the economy is pretty bad, but the stock market is good. Who needs an economy when the market is so good? Maybe we should just give up on the idea of making anything, and simply let the stock market take care of us… just a thought.
It’s sad to see those stats, it really is. I really hope things will turn around for the better, but at this point it’s hard to tell.
@ImNotUglyIJustNeedLove - Actually, it’s around 4.4%, but that’s neither here nor there. And it’s about 1 trillion a year as well. Under Obama, real defense spending ROSE 10%. Where do we account for the rise in government revenue to account for those costs? If you’re a real conservative, you’ll realize that ALL government spending leads to a deficit. This is not an issue that is based on party lines. AGAIN, this is a basic math issue. And to answer your bridge thing, the American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that about $3.5 trillion is required to fix America’s crumbling infrastructure. So spending $1 trillion to address the issue barely covers it.
@davidian - Military spending constitutionally sanctioned.
Liberals don’t care about the cost of anything unless it is constitutionally sanctioned.
The deficit is not caused by spending on what is needed and sanctioned. The deficit is caused by the organized crime nature of Democrat Party politics which is what now powers and directs the government.
In plain English that would be money laundering, extortion, pay offs, racketeering and influence peddling.
@ImNotUglyIJustNeedLove - okay, now you’re somewhat of an idiot. Not the amount of spending we do today. What we do today is exactly what Eisenhower cautioned against. I’m sure the framers of our Constitution would caution against as well when they were trying to frame a new nation against the tyranny of the Crown. Again, please get it through your skull, it’s not a party issue. It’s a government issue. We don’t need to spend as much as we do. You’re like someone who WANTS to buy a Maserati bc you need a car to commute to work. WASTEFUL SPENDING! Money laundering, extortion, pay offs, racketeering and influence peddling. Sounds like modern day politics to me. POLITICS, not PARTIES. Get the point of it. Again, basic math. You simply can’t spend more than you earn. How are YOUR personal finances?
@davidian - Why do people who can’t see the obvious always think that mentioning math makes them look less uninformed?
@ImNotUglyIJustNeedLove - Because the deficit is a basic math issue. It’s a numbers game, skew it how you want. Do you blame the conservative/liberal in your family when you’re knee deep in credit card debt? No, you blame your spending habits. Same should go with government. Try to make a valid (informed) argument against it.
The law of entropy applies universally to all systems, including financial and economic systems. There is no economy that has risen that has not fallen, no government that has flourished that has not disintegrated, no system anywhere in history that has stood the test of time, and there never will be, with one singular exception:
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. (2Pe 3:10, Mat 24:35)
Peace
It utterly sucks. However, I’m part of a company that are in the process of bringing two large manufacturers back to the US from China. I’m ridiculously proud of that.
@davidian - President Obama increased the budget baseline by $1trillion dollars upon entering office.
He called that increase “economic stimulus.”
The Democrat controlled Senate didn’t submit a budget for 5 years. That includes the first 2 years of Obama’s Regime when the Democrats controlled the entire government.
Since the GOP took over the House, the Democrats have obstructed any attempts at budget sanity by the GOP.
The US federal budget is such a mess that only an imbecile would think any kind of rational mathematics applied to it.
The exponential growth of debt is the only mathematical rule that applies to the US federal budget.
@blonde_apocalypse - You should be. Let me guess there were quality issues?
@ImNotUglyIJustNeedLove - http://thegreatrecession.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/Federal_Debt_1901-2010.png You’re an idiot. Can you stop speaking hyperbole and talk numbers and facts. The point is that the blame for the deficit and the debt lies in both parties. It’s a simple matter of spending more than revenue. How many other ways do you want me to paint hte picture for you? Basic math, ONCE AGAIN.
@davidian - The Congress does not operate the federal budget according to the mathematics that the rest of the world must use.
Low information voters like you wouldn’t know that.
You just tell yourselves stories according to your personal bias. You think yourself a math aficionado so your particular hallucinated alternate reality has the federal budget operated according to accounting rules.
You define “idiot” as anyone who doesn’t share your hallucination.
Reality is that every member of Congress would be thrown in jail for fiduciary crimes if your quaint little rules of mathematics applied to them.
@ImNotUglyIJustNeedLove - You are hilarious. Actually, Congress operates on politics. But budgets and deficits do operate based on simple math. If Congress spends $2 but only takes in $1, you end up with a $1 deficit. Multiply that 14 trillion times and you end up with the situation we have. Make sense? Probably not. Because basic things like logic and math do not apply to your moronic world. Did you graduate from high school? Because any twit with a secondary education can understand budgeting. If the federal budget didn’t operate according to accounting rules, you would have ONE HUGE SCANDAL on your hands. And I applaud you. You should really pitch that story. I used to work for Reuters. I can introduce you to some journalists who would love to hear your conspiracy theory. If it holds any ground, you could win a Pulizter! If they really are breaking the law, why hasn’t any oversight or balance of power corrected these “crimes” that you speak of? Oh, because the law actually does operate on logic. You don’t. LOL.
@davidian - Unfortunately, Congress doesn’t use math when it spends our money. They tax and when that isn’t enough they borrow and print money.
Tax, borrow and print money has been the explicit economic policy of the Obama Regime.
Math is only applies to the federal budget in your hallucinating little liberal mind. No one in government could care less about the math.
How do you explain the Democrats not permitting the government to operate on a budget since Obama was elected?
It’s because mathematics is completely unimportant to them.
@ImNotUglyIJustNeedLove - Who is this liberal you’re speaking of? Oh, are you referring to me? The educated conservative? I’m fiscally conservative. And when it comes to fiscal conservation, you simply stop spending. You however, believe in this loopy magical world where Congress doesn’t follow basic math rules. If that were really the case, we wouldn’t have the debt problem we have now. But WE DO. Why? Because the budget and debt adhere to basic math rules even if Congress ignores them. Spend more than you earn = DEFICIT. BASIC MATH for the thousandth time. You’re a really dense person. I hope you’re not conservative because you’re a disgrace to us all. Get out of MY PARTY!!
@davidian - Only imbeciles need to have the obvious explained to them.
Allow me to explain: the liberal in question would be you.
The “the deficit is because of Iraq,” is the stupidist thing anyone could ever say. That’s why only liberals say it.
@ImNotUglyIJustNeedLove - And allow me to point out the glaring obvious truth that at no point in any of my arguments did I state such a fact. Not only are you a moron in math, but clearly you lack any form of literacy. You’re a disgrace for humanity.
@davidian - Math is not the topic of discussion.
And at no point in your hallucination did you state a fact.
We are in agreement apparently that all you are is a parrot for Democrat Party talking points.
@ImNotUglyIJustNeedLove - Point proven. Thank you. It has become blatantly clear that you lack the intellect of a 2 year old ape. Yes, everyone who points out your glaring idiocy must be a goddamn liberal!