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New data show much faster growth in wages and incomes.
Wages and salary figures have been going up faster than previously estimated, with the year-over-year increase revised from 3.6% to 5.5%. Even after adjusting for inflation, that is 4.1%.
Overall personal income is up, transfer receipts (welfare) are down, and savings is up. Americans are relying less on the government and saving more of what they earn. Personal savings is 8.1%, not the 6.1% that had been estimated. Consumer spending is up despite the increase in savings. The fact that spending isn't accompanied by a household debt increase makes the economic expansion more durable.
The numbers for the first quarter of 2019 look particularly good for reducing income inequality. Corporate profits declined while wages grew at an annualized rate of 10.1%.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by MostCynical on Friday August 02 2019, @09:01AM (6 children)
can these results be traced to particular policies, or would they have appeared no matter who was in the Oval Office, or had the majority in congress or the senate?
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 5, Informative) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Friday August 02 2019, @09:38AM
Can't find the link now, but recently I read that the Rayndian MO of "Slash taxes for the rich in order to stimulate the economy" typically DOES result in an uptick in jobs, wages, spending etc.
However that uptick is invariably shortlived, and followed by massive debts and a huge crash. IIRC California demonstrated this (I think it was under Reagan, who rode the uptick into the WhiteHouse before the other shoe dropped) as well as various other states / countries that have experimented with this particular 'fiscal strategy'.
Best link I can find right now is this one: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jul/16/boris-johnson-tax-cuts-tory-leadership-laffer-curve [theguardian.com] but it's not the article I'm looking for. I'll keep digging.
(Score: 4, Informative) by DeathMonkey on Friday August 02 2019, @03:49PM (4 children)
They can be traced to the recovery from the 2008 financial crisis.
Trump loves to brag about things he inherited: his wealth and a great economy
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday August 02 2019, @08:29PM (3 children)
Yeah, my stock market gains look really impressive when played on a 10 year timescale, instead of 12.
Also, that title "99%" - like hell. Between the unemployed and those not seeking employment, nowhere 99% have actualized increased income greater than they anticipated.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by Common Joe on Saturday August 03 2019, @04:27AM (1 child)
Don't forget: the definition of inflation is measured differently over time. And also, 1% - 2% today doesn't come close to making up years of deficiencies.
[Skimming article] Hmm. There are a couple of places that make me question the accuracy of this article.
And why is this in the opinion section of the Wall Street Journal?
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Saturday August 03 2019, @11:19AM
Because, the editors know BS when they see it, but are required to print it anyway.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 08 2019, @12:03AM
He jumped from 30k/year working at walmart up to 50k a year working in the boonies, then 55k (less than the cost of living increase of the move) working in SV, then 60k moving to the east coast. Those latter two jobs have had raises that didn't keep up with the cost of living increases each year, despite the fact that his job has mostly been about 'eliminating redundancies' through effective use of code to automate tasks.
So basically people have been losing jobs because of him, and he hasn't seen a commisurate pay increase as those funds were freed up for more valuable employees. Given that his raises have been 1 percent or thereabout per year, with salary increases only coming from jumping jobs, I would say the claims about bigger raises is probably bullshit, on average, since most of the other people I know have had the same wages except for title changes for the past 5-10 years.