On 5 Mar 2006 at 20:09, Greg Sevart wrote:
> On the contrary, I think it is pretty clear that the reason why real > wages haven't increased since 2001 is because of the economic recession > kicked off by 9/11. Nope. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research (which is the private-sector authority on the matters), the national economy officially entered recession in March of 2001, five months before 9/11. > We're climbing out of the recession now Then why are there fewer workers in the national economy now, as a percentage, than there were in 2000 ? The National Labor Participation Rate is lower now than it was in 2000. Bankruptcies are at the highest level in history, home foreclosures are at the highest level in history, federal budget deficits are at the highest level in history, Poverty has increased each and every year over the last five years (after declining each year of the previous eight years), the number of uninsured has increased each and every year over the last five years, and Long-term Unemployment is at the highest level in thirty years. > and energy prices seem to be stabilizing to a degree Last week the non-core CPI was reported to have increased +0.7% for the month. That is an 8.4% annualized inflation rate. > so I fully anticipate that real wages will be on the increase again > shortly. Not unless publicly policy is reversed. > Saying that the American experiment/standard of living is now going to > face a constant decline based on an extrapolation of numbers since > 2001 is an egregious error It would be, if anyone had made that claim. Vince
