Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Ah, the tired ol' theme

The trap of financial news networks and reports on the Stock Market are they focus TOTALLY upon the wealthy, be it a well-stocked portfolio, or the corporate bottom-line. Cutting payroll for example, is considered fan-damn-tastic for a stock.

But of all the offensive lies that are constantly repeated, the worst and most ridiculous, is the notion of "Bush doesn't get credit for how good the economy is". Golly, Larry Kudlow, why would that be?

Americans earned a smaller average income in 2005 than in 2000, the fifth consecutive year that they had to make ends meet with less money than at the peak of the last economic expansion, new government data shows.

While incomes have been on the rise since 2002, the average income in 2005 was $55,238, still nearly 1 percent less than the $55,714 in 2000, after adjusting for inflation, analysis of new tax statistics show...

...Total income listed on tax returns grew every year after World War II, with a single one-year exception, until 2001, making the five-year period of lower average incomes and four years of lower total incomes a new experience for the majority of Americans born since 1945.

The White House [ed: R - Tone Deaf] said the fact that average incomes were smaller five years after the Internet bubble burst “should not surprise anyone.”

The growth in total incomes was concentrated among those making more than $1 million. The number of such taxpayers grew by more than 26 percent, to 303,817 in 2005, from 239,685 in 2000.

These individuals, who constitute less than a quarter of 1 percent of all taxpayers, reaped almost 47 percent of the total income gains in 2005, compared with 2000.


The "economy" is good ONLY when it's good for most of its citizenry. I know it's a shock, but the guy making $11 an hour at Best Buy is just as much of a citizen as the CEO. His financial status should count for something more than being denied medical insurance for his kid by a Bush Administration regulation.

Time for Jim Cramer to scream about how bad off his beloved "stock traders" are.

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