INDICATORS

- Inflation-adjusted hourly and weekly wages are still below where they
were at the start of the recovery in November 2001. Yet,
productivity-the growth of the economic pie-is up by 13.5%.

- Median household income (inflation-adjusted) has fallen five years in
a row and was 4% lower in 2004 than in 1999, falling from $46,129 to
$44,389.

- The indebtedness of U.S. households, after adjusting for inflation,
has risen 35.7% over the last four years.

- The level of debt as a percent of after-tax income is the highest ever
measured in our history. Mortgage and consumer debt is now 115% of
after-tax income, twice the level of 30 years ago.

- The personal savings rate is negative for the first time since WWII.

- The United States has only 1.3% more jobs today (excluding the effects
of Hurricane Katrina) than in March 2001 (the start of the recession).
Private sector jobs are up only 0.8%. At this stage of previous business
cycles, jobs had grown by an average of 8.8% and never less than 6.0%.

- More than 3 million manufacturing jobs have been lost since January
2000.

- The number of people living in poverty has increased by 5.4 million
since 2000.

- The child poverty rate increased from 16.3% in 2001 to 17.8% in 2004.

- Family health costs rose 43-45% for married couples with children,
single mothers, and young singles from 2000 to 2003.

- Last year, the percent of people with employer-provided health
insurance fell for the fourth year in a row. Nearly 3.7 million fewer
people had employer-provided insurance in 2004 than in 2000.

http://maxspeak.org/mt/archives/001849.html

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PRESIDENT BUSH is trying to put the best spin he can on this
eavesdropping scandal, like he said today: "This proves we have a
government that listens to the people." --Jay Leno

FOR ARROGANCE it's had to beat a bunch of self-impressed bloggers at
Sploid calling NY transit workers bums. Would they care to share work
schedules and job descriptions? Runner up: the financial worker in
Manhattan who told a reporter, "Unions are so passe."