Monday, August 28, 2006

Bushenomic boom a bust for working class

Here's this week's proof that the only beneficiaries of the Bush boom are the one percenters. The money quotes:
The median hourly wage for American workers has declined 2 percent since 2003, after factoring in inflation. The drop has been especially notable, economists say, because productivity — the amount that an average worker produces in an hour and the basic wellspring of a nation’s living standards — has risen steadily over the same period.

As a result, wages and salaries now make up the lowest share of the nation’s gross domestic product since the government began recording the data in 1947, while corporate profits have climbed to their highest share since the 1960’s. UBS, the investment bank, recently described the current period as “the golden era of profitability.” [...]

In 2004, the top 1 percent of earners — a group that includes many chief executives — received 11.2 percent of all wage income, up from 8.7 percent a decade earlier and less than 6 percent three decades ago, according to Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty, economists who analyzed the tax data.
“The golden era of profitability...” Kind of reminds you of the gilded age of capitalism doesn't it? It's a good time to be a CEO or a mega-trust fund baby. For the rest of us working stiffs -- not so much.
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2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

And Bu$hCo wonders why the electorate is so bearish on the economy. "It's still the [say it with me] ECONOMY, stupid!"

6:59:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What astonishes me is the number of people who are not in the one percentile who defend this ponzi scheme of a economic plan. Don't they know they're getting screwed?

8:59:00 PM  

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