Since the Department of Commerce starting keeping track in 1947, wages and salaries as a share of the gross domestic product are at the lowest point. Wages as a slice of GDP were comfortably above 50 percent from the 1950s through the mid-1970s and then the percentage fell until the mid-1990s when it crept back up through 2000. Now, at a record low, take home pay now makes up just 45.3 percent of GDP.
Since 2003, adjusting for inflation, hourly wages have fallen 2 percent. Conversely, corporate profits, thanks to worker productivity, have swelled. The American worker, however, obviously isn’t sharing in the fruits of their labors.
According to economists Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez, the top 10 percent of earners in 2004 enjoy 42.9 percent of all earnings, not including capital gains. The top 1 percent enjoys up 16.2 percent of the total income.
Worse still, the buying power of minimum wage, adjusted for inflation, is less than it was in 1947. Although California has recently raised the minimum wage, Congressional Republicans are loathe to do the same. The argument offered is that a raise in the minimum wage would benefit but a few at the expense of business and the overall economy.
Interesting argument in light of the fact that low wage earners are the bulk of the workforce as mid and upper wage jobs are disappearing at an alarming rate. This is the same Republican Congress that is giving large tax breaks to companies that send jobs overseas forcing middle workers to take lower paying positions or simply be unemployed. The argument against hurting the overall economy rings hollow and it seems that corporations and the top ten percent are what are really being protected at the expense of the American worker while giving corporations windfall tax breaks.
There is something very wrong with the priorities of the Republicans who dominate Congress and the Senate. If there isn’t a change in leadership and direction in DC in the November elections, the service industry will be this country’s only industry.
Anyone who argues that the administration and its party have nothing to do with the economy is seriously out of touch with reality or is in the top ten-percent that gets forty-two percent of the wealth. Economic manipulation is part and parcel of politics and this administration and the Republican Party are actively engaged in the practice.
Note how fuel prices are plunging so close to the upcoming elections and the president just happens to be from an oil family, not to mention he’s very buddy-buddy with the Saudis. When fuel prices were reaching altitudes never seen before the Republicans blamed market influences. No doubt they’ll try to take credit for fuel prices going down.
Lower energy costs also reign in inflation so the Federal Reserve Board, independent from politics, has been sitting on current interest rates. This is all good for business and most consumers – for now. After November if energy costs began their upward spiral, which no doubt they will, rest assured we’ll see the Fed edging the rates up again.
As voters told Senior, “It’s the economy, stupid”. Junior not only has the economy against him but foreign and domestic policy failures as well.
21-50 - out.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Monday, September 11, 2006
Calling All Armchair- Warrior Republicans!
Numerous stories have emerged in the media about how Republicans have all but abandoned American Veterans. Those supportive of the Republican Party dismiss those reports as coming from a biased media. Voting records however are fact and fact supports the stories.
All one need do is go to Project Vote Smart and look at the voting records of Congressional Republicans on legislation supported by the DAV (http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_rating_detail.php?sig_id=004044M) to see that the Republican rhetoric of supporting the military and veterans is pure hypocrisy. Not only are the Republican Congressional voting records telling of their contempt for veterans, they also show a disturbing trend since the Republicans gained the White House.
After 2001, when the Bush Administration was firmly seated, what little support Republicans gave legislation benefiting veterans, especially disabled veterans, vaporized. This would lead one to conclude that the administration is anti-veteran and that the Republicans in both houses are in lock step with the Bush Administration.
These armchair-warrior Republicans and their families have failed to make any sacrifices for this country through military service. But they are damned quick to send those who serve into harm’s way for their own personal agendas and the benefit of their cronies who fund their campaign coffers in thanks for fat federal contracts.
These people who have never served a day appear before the cameras with our GIs and vets for every photo op available, making their speeches publicly declaring their support for the troops and vets only to return to DC where they quietly erode what little benefits given our troops and vets at every turn.
As a twenty-one year veteran I find the hypocrisy evidenced by the actions of the Republican Party with regard to the military and veterans repugnant.
As they put those willing to serve in harms way, they throw $5-billion each month into the Iraqi debacle without a single smoking-gun to justify the military action and no end in sight. Afghanistan was justifiable as we could trace the source of the attacks. The evidence was clear and compelling. Iraq, however, has yet to be justified as hard as the administration and its lock-step legions have tried.
Worse the war in Iraq is funded in large part at the expense of domestic programs and by stripping veterans and the military of benefits by slashing the budgets for VA programs or creating new caveats to receive them or denying them outright. But taking away isn’t sufficient enough; they have to block every piece of legislation that might provide any benefit, no matter how small, to veterans as well as their widows and orphans.
Meanwhile those who voted in the current administration spend a $1.95 on yellow ribbons urging us to “Support Our Troops”. If any of these people really want to support the troops they’d spend that $1.95 on postage to their representatives in support of legislation to benefit the troops and veterans while calling Republicans to task to develop a solid exit strategy then hold their feet to the fire to do so.
Now we’re “damned if we do and damned if we don’t”. If we cut and run we lose face before the world, never to be taken seriously for decades, and Iraq falls like Viet Nam. If we “stay the course” until we think Iraq can succeed on its own, the Iraqi government (which we put in place) will probably collapse from infighting or be overthrown by an opportunistic religious faction. Then we’ll be faced with a real threat where none existed before.
21-50 - out
All one need do is go to Project Vote Smart and look at the voting records of Congressional Republicans on legislation supported by the DAV (http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_rating_detail.php?sig_id=004044M) to see that the Republican rhetoric of supporting the military and veterans is pure hypocrisy. Not only are the Republican Congressional voting records telling of their contempt for veterans, they also show a disturbing trend since the Republicans gained the White House.
After 2001, when the Bush Administration was firmly seated, what little support Republicans gave legislation benefiting veterans, especially disabled veterans, vaporized. This would lead one to conclude that the administration is anti-veteran and that the Republicans in both houses are in lock step with the Bush Administration.
These armchair-warrior Republicans and their families have failed to make any sacrifices for this country through military service. But they are damned quick to send those who serve into harm’s way for their own personal agendas and the benefit of their cronies who fund their campaign coffers in thanks for fat federal contracts.
These people who have never served a day appear before the cameras with our GIs and vets for every photo op available, making their speeches publicly declaring their support for the troops and vets only to return to DC where they quietly erode what little benefits given our troops and vets at every turn.
As a twenty-one year veteran I find the hypocrisy evidenced by the actions of the Republican Party with regard to the military and veterans repugnant.
As they put those willing to serve in harms way, they throw $5-billion each month into the Iraqi debacle without a single smoking-gun to justify the military action and no end in sight. Afghanistan was justifiable as we could trace the source of the attacks. The evidence was clear and compelling. Iraq, however, has yet to be justified as hard as the administration and its lock-step legions have tried.
Worse the war in Iraq is funded in large part at the expense of domestic programs and by stripping veterans and the military of benefits by slashing the budgets for VA programs or creating new caveats to receive them or denying them outright. But taking away isn’t sufficient enough; they have to block every piece of legislation that might provide any benefit, no matter how small, to veterans as well as their widows and orphans.
Meanwhile those who voted in the current administration spend a $1.95 on yellow ribbons urging us to “Support Our Troops”. If any of these people really want to support the troops they’d spend that $1.95 on postage to their representatives in support of legislation to benefit the troops and veterans while calling Republicans to task to develop a solid exit strategy then hold their feet to the fire to do so.
Now we’re “damned if we do and damned if we don’t”. If we cut and run we lose face before the world, never to be taken seriously for decades, and Iraq falls like Viet Nam. If we “stay the course” until we think Iraq can succeed on its own, the Iraqi government (which we put in place) will probably collapse from infighting or be overthrown by an opportunistic religious faction. Then we’ll be faced with a real threat where none existed before.
21-50 - out
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