On January 25th, the Dow Jones Industrial Average passed the 20,000 point mark for the first time in history. When I graduated from high school in 1992, it had recently broken records by reaching 3,300 points. That means that it has had an increase of over 500% in just twenty-five years. Our economy has been following a growth curve similar to the one I saw in junior high science about rabbit populations. In fact, considering that Obama started his term with the Dow around 7,000 (after a drop from around 13,000 just before the end of W. Bush's presidency), the rate of increase has been even greater in the past eight years.
Considering that the U.S. population only grew from around 260,000,000 in 1992 to around 325,000,000 today (a 25% increase), I cannot help but notice that a substantial amount of wealth seems to be missing from the general populace. I certainly do not see a similar increase in the vast majority of Americans' incomes. The median household income is only up about 10% during that 25-year period. In fact actual wages for most workers (when inflation is taken into account) are still down from their high in 1970 (when the Dow only got slightly higher than 800--no, I didn't drop a zero). Economic growth for the nation has not led to anything close to a commensurate economic growth for most Americans. In the meantime, pensions and health benefits from most jobs have been drastically cut due to a financial "crisis" that simply doesn't exist.
In my mind, this is what the drama about our current president is truly hiding, just as the drama around Obama's presidency hid this same wealth disparity. These are numbers that scream for attention. Only by having an even louder circus take place around them do they go unnoticed.
Considering that the U.S. population only grew from around 260,000,000 in 1992 to around 325,000,000 today (a 25% increase), I cannot help but notice that a substantial amount of wealth seems to be missing from the general populace. I certainly do not see a similar increase in the vast majority of Americans' incomes. The median household income is only up about 10% during that 25-year period. In fact actual wages for most workers (when inflation is taken into account) are still down from their high in 1970 (when the Dow only got slightly higher than 800--no, I didn't drop a zero). Economic growth for the nation has not led to anything close to a commensurate economic growth for most Americans. In the meantime, pensions and health benefits from most jobs have been drastically cut due to a financial "crisis" that simply doesn't exist.
In my mind, this is what the drama about our current president is truly hiding, just as the drama around Obama's presidency hid this same wealth disparity. These are numbers that scream for attention. Only by having an even louder circus take place around them do they go unnoticed.
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