Duh! It’s Still the Economy

by Tula Connell, Jun 22, 2006

Yesterday, we noted some new health care studies that point to the nation’s deteriorating health delivery system.

But health care isn’t the only area where America’s workers are struggling. Despite Bush administration propaganda, it’s still the economy, stupid.

The Labor Department today released figures showing the number of workers filing claims for unemployment benefits rose by the largest amount in five weeks, suggesting, as news reports put it, “the slowing economy is beginning to show up in a weaker employment market.” But the larger-than-expected number of people filing for jobless benefits last week—308,000—is one short-term indicator of longer-term trends that have been exacerbated—and in many cases created—by Bush administration policies.

Several recent reports highlighting these longer-term trends indicate why 71 percent of the U.S. population does not approve of President Bush’s handling of the economy. 

In brief:

* Working and Still Poor

The percentage of working poor increased to 5.6 percent of the U.S. labor force in 2004, the latest year for which such information is available. That’s up from 5.3 percent in 2003, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nearly 8 million workers lived in poverty, an increase of 408,000 from 2003.

* The Excessively Rich are Getting Excessively Richer

In 2005, the average CEO in the United States earned 262 times the pay of the average worker, the second-highest level of this ratio in the 40 years for which there are data, according to the Economic Policy Institute. In 2005, a CEO earned more in one workday (260 in a year) than an average worker earned in 52 weeks. The typical worker’s compensation averaged just under $42,000 for the year, while the average CEO reaped almost $11 million.

* The New Economy Isn’t Coming Back Anytime Soon

Fewer than one-quarter of the U.S. technology jobs lost earlier this decade have been recovered. Only 88,600 technology jobs have been recouped out of 395,600 lost in the three years ended in March 2004, according to a survey conducted for the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers (WashTech).

* Middle-Class Neighborhoods on Their Way Out
Middle-class neighborhoods are shrinking twice as fast as the middle class, according to news reports today. In their place, poor and rich neighborhoods are both on the rise, as cities and suburbs have become increasingly segregated by income,.

Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress this week slammed the door shut on the nation’s low-wage workers when the Senate rejected an increase in the minimum wage. In the House, Republicans refuse to bring up the minimum wage but are tripping over themselves to cut estate taxes for millionaires. Seems the $70 billion tax cut gift for the wealthy earlier this year wasn’t enough.

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