Good news from the Census Department

[Chi-Town]

From MarketWatch

6 years in, the economic recovery finally reaches middle-class American

Data from the Census Department show an economy that's recovering from the crisis and deep recession.

New data showing middle-class household incomes growing at the fastest rate since the recession seemed to confirm that a recovery that's remained grudgingly slow and uneven is finally touching the lives of ordinary Americans.

Millions of Americans escaped poverty last year and incomes rose at their biggest gain ever, as the 6-year long economic recovery finally hit home for households. Median middle-class wages surged 5.2% between 2014 and 2015, the Census Department said.

[Allegiance]

The Census Bureau lists 15 sources of household income.

1. Earnings
2. Unemployment compensation
3. Workers’ compensation
4. Social security
5. Supplemental security income
6. Public assistance
7. Veterans’ payments
8. Survivor benefits
9. Disability benefits
10. Pension or retirement income
11. Interest
12. Dividends
13. Rents, royalties, and estates and trusts
14. Educational assistance
15. Alimony
16. Child support
17. Financial assistance from outside of the household
18. Other income

The report doesn’t break out the dollar amount of any source other than earnings. Since earnings did not account for the 5.2% gain in household income, what did? None of these other sources could have been the source. Virtually none of them would have increased by that much, and none of them would apply to more than a fraction of total households. Therefore they would not have had much impact on the median of all households.

Given these facts, the 5.2% increase is “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” Churchill used that phrase to describe politics in the Soviet Union. I think that’s an apt analogy for US government statistics.

Assuming that 5.2% increase wasn’t just a fabrication or a data error, I’m still wondering, where it came from. It’s not earnings and not the increase in the number of men and women working. It’s not the other sources of income. By deduction, there could only be one source of the increase– an increase in household size. For instance, if Junior is making $28,000 a year working as an assistant manager at McDonald’s, and he or she decides that the rent is too damn high, he moves back in with Mom and Dad. Voila, if household income increases by 50% in 6% of households, that would account for the increase not caused by the increase in individual earnings.

Does that mean that households were actually doing better 5.2% better?

No. But the headlines sound good.

Yeah, that’s the ticket.

[Quietman]

Good post - this is exactly what I heard on TV news analysis.

[Allegiance]

Look for more magical statistics to be released.

[Chi-Town]

Look for more magical statistics to be released.
There is a dark cloud in every silver lining to some.

[goodtimesintv]

I do not consider THIS "good news" for our kids and future grandchildren!

Anyone who thinks this is good news should be ashamed!


https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/attachments/villages-florida-non-villages-discussion-93/62200d1473873767-good-news-census-department-screen-shot-2016-09-14-1-21-30-pm-jpg
https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/attachments/villages-florida-non-villages-discussion-93/62199d1473873608-good-news-census-department-screen-shot-2016-09-14-1-19-18-pm-jpg

:ohdear:

:ohdear:
US Debt Clock :: National Debt of United States (http://www.nationaldebtclocks.org/debtclock/unitedstates)

[Chi-Town]

I do not consider THIS "good news" for our kids and future grandchildren!

Anyone who thinks this is good news should be ashamed!


https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/attachments/villages-florida-non-villages-discussion-93/62200d1473873767-good-news-census-department-screen-shot-2016-09-14-1-21-30-pm-jpg
https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/attachments/villages-florida-non-villages-discussion-93/62199d1473873608-good-news-census-department-screen-shot-2016-09-14-1-19-18-pm-jpg

:ohdear:

:ohdear:
US Debt Clock :: National Debt of United States (http://www.nationaldebtclocks.org/debtclock/unitedstates)
Incomes rising, poverty lessening, and more people with access to healthcare. Can't get worse news than that.

[ColdNoMore]

Incomes rising, poverty lessening, and more people with access to healthcare. Can't get worse news than that.

:boom:


:1rotfl:


:BigApplause:

[dewilson58]

More numbers................from the Census Department:

[graciegirl]

You can spot a persons party affiliation on this forum very easily.

[golfing eagles]

I hope it really is good news, but I have some concern that 1 good month can't wipe out 7 1/2 bad years, especially since the lesson of history is that statistics don't lie, people lie with statistics

[JoelJohnson]

When is all this debt due?
If I borrowed $1,000,000 when I was 21, when would I have to pay it back?
The answer is that it would be in the terms of the loan, which would have to be within my life span.
The US can borrow for a very very long time, since it does not have a life span.
The US does have a time frame to pay off current loans, 1 year, 10 year 30 year or whatever. But it can always borrow more ... forever.
Only when the country fails can the creditors come collect the assets or at least whats left of them.

[JoelJohnson]

More numbers................

Where did this chart come from?

[Chi-Town]

You can spot a persons party affiliation on this forum very easily.
Good news vs. bad news.

[l2ridehd]

This article came from market watch which is the most liberal left leaning news source available today. Probably a Rex Nutting article. I wouldn't believe anything I saw there. They are such a biased news source that even MSNBC said they couldn't rely on them as an information source. Most of the information they present is so distorted that nothing they publish can be believed.

[ColdNoMore]

Good news vs. bad news.

Yep. :thumbup:

[Allegiance]

You can spot a persons party affiliation on this forum very easily.
So true, but now that the election is effectively over, we can get back to important things like spending all that extra income we have.

[ColdNoMore]

So true, but now that the election is effectively over.....

:1rotfl:...:1rotfl:...:1rotfl:


Thanks...I needed that. :thumbup:

[manaboutown]

You can spot a persons party affiliation on this forum very easily.

The correct who examine the facts behind various reports and the propagandized group that's left? Actually, America's incomes are stalling - Yahoo Finance (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/those-big-income-gains-theyve-stalled-this-year-160228661.html)

[ColdNoMore]

Hard to ignore facts. :D

[goodtimesintv]

Hard to ignore facts. :D

Yup. Looks like it's about time for the Business Cycle to take another dive.

"....Expansion is the default mode of the economy, with recessions being much shorter and less common. So why do recessions occur at all? While economists’ views differ on this subject, there is a clear pattern of excessive speculative activity evident in the latter stages of expansion in many business cycles.

The 2001 recession was preceded by an absolute mania in dot-com and technology stocks, while the 2007-09 recession followed a period of unprecedented speculation in the U.S. housing market.

The average length of an expansion has increased significantly since the 1990s. The three business cycles from July 1990 to June 2009 had an average expansion phase of 95 months – or almost 8 years – compared with the average recession length of 11 months over this period. While some economists were hopeful that this development marked the end of the business cycle......"

Read more: Business Cycle Business Cycle Definition | Investopedia (http://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/businesscycle.asp#ixzz4KHLKNMk1)


See Chart:
https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=62226&stc=1&d=1473899669

NASDAQ Composite - 45 Year Historical Chart | MacroTrends (http://www.macrotrends.net/1320/nasdaq-historical-chart)

[ColdNoMore]

The sky is falling, the sky is falling. :D

Or at least it should/will...eventually. :oops:

In the meantime, my investments have been very happy with the hand on the helm...for the last 7+ years. :ho:


Disclaimer: Past performance is not indicative of future performance...especially if it turns orange (as highly unlikely as that is). :1rotfl:

[outlaw]

Hard to ignore facts. :D

I hope this means you're fully invested.

[ColdNoMore]

I hope this means you're fully invested.

At this age, being 'fully invested'...would not be wise.

Being 'enough invested' to have taken advantage of the impressive run-up in the last 7 years...has been wise. :thumbup:

[Moderator]

It this thread continues to be political, it will be closed.

[graciegirl]

At this age, being 'fully invested'...would not be wise.

Being 'enough invested' to have taken advantage of the impressive run-up in the last 7 years...has been wise. :thumbup:

Listen to the moderator.

But to be fair, it must be hard to be a minority in this wonderful place..

[outlaw]

This thread was meant to be political! It should be moved political talk or closed.