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An Antidote to Corporate Media
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Done!
2011 Apr 2, 2:20am
So all of that thievery and pillaging, where corporate profits are being made while federal debt is rising, while median household income is shrinking. At the end of the day, We only gained 18% in GDP(that's if you believe it).
Very telling graph, the direction of the indicators seem about right. Regardless how exaggerated or understated some may be aside.
In the many years I worked for SV corporations, I dont recall any CEO/CFO, making any promise to anyone stating they will grow rich or become wealthy. You will however however work like a dog for many hours and maybe get raise or promotion. Nothing is automatic or share in the wealth as many in the public think.
If you asked the same question 20 years ago, I would have given you the same answer.
"Economically, the past decade was miserable."
Yes, I agree, and the publics infatuation in making a quick buck or being snared in overspending on homes hasnt helped the situation. Like many others who dont trust corporations, my own doctor doesnt invest in corporte stock but sinks his savings into his house thinking it will pay off 2-3x more than he paid. Now the public whats their own bailout becuase they made a mistake. That kind of thinking has to change!
The 18% gain in GDP is right there in the increase in government debt. We borrowed it.
The government meddled in energy, and prevented us getting our own energy here (Alaska, off Florida, off California). This raises oil prices. The government meddled in real estate, leading to a gigantic bubble. Real estate was expensive partially because of government policy. The government allowed millions of illegal and legal foreign workers come to the USA, which depressed wages for American workers. This was caused by both government and some corporations (e.g. HP). The taxes Americans pay as a % of their incomes keeps rising, which is caused by government spending too much. The government is not allowing the free market in health care, the insurance rules are different in each state. This and other things cause health care to rise. The government has refused to rein in ambulance chasing lawyers who are enriched by malpractice. (John Edwards became a multimillionaire convincing N. Carolina juries natural childbirth causes autism). I don't see how big corporations screwed me. If you own mutual funds, you probably got some dividends from Exxon. If Apple makes a fortune, it doesn't hurt me one bit.
* Nominal household income increased from 42K to about 50K.
In the mean time, no. of workers has declined, you get more you do more.
* Rent increased about 25% in nominal terms despite 9/11 recession/tech bobble and subsequent housing bubble. Think about that, two recessions and rent still up 25% in nominal terms this decade.
No! even in SFBA, post 2000 rents are down as much as 25-30%, and have not even reached their year 2000 peak.
* profitbability focus for Corporations. Corporations are far more recession proof as they can flip profit within one year via restructuring and Corporations are more global focused.
Even back in the 80s and 90s we had global corporations, but that didnt prevent them being recession proof. We had in the BA 340 public companies in 1994, over 400 by 2000 and are down to over 200 today. How do you explain the drop ? Recession proof! Not even close.
. I don’t see how big corporations screwed me
you must've missed the part where the government spent trillions of tax payer dollars to bail out corporations like AIG, CitiGroup, BoA, Goldman, auto manufacturers, etc.
privatize profits(note the huge "Corporate Profit" bar on the chart) and
socialize losses(note the almost equally huge "Federal Debt" bar on the chart).
the corporations screwed you. not directly but you're certainly paying for their fuckups.
bail out corporations like AIG, CitiGroup, BoA, Goldman, auto manufacturers, etc.
From which banks does Joe six pack draw his salary from or many small to large businesses keep their funds to pay employees and vendors, who is the insurers who handels transportion coverage on goods shipped everyday across this nation and global. If they fail or stop operations the trickle effect spreads across many entities and impacts many others.
terriDeaner
2011 Apr 2, 4:31am
The government meddled in energy, and prevented us getting our own energy here (Alaska, off Florida, off California). This raises oil prices. The government meddled in real estate, leading to a gigantic bubble. Real estate was expensive partially because of government policy. The government allowed millions of illegal and legal foreign workers come to the USA, which depressed wages for American workers. This was caused by both government and some corporations (e.g. HP). The taxes Americans pay as a % of their incomes keeps rising, which is caused by government spending too much. The government is not allowing the free market in health care, the insurance rules are different in each state. This and other things cause health care to rise. The government has refused to rein in ambulance chasing lawyers who are enriched by malpractice. (John Edwards became a multimillionaire convincing N. Carolina juries natural childbirth causes autism).
Just curious, are you writing these talking points down WHILE you watch Fox news, or do you remember them from listening to AM radio during your commute?
I don’t see how big corporations screwed me. If you own mutual funds, you probably got some dividends from Exxon. If Apple makes a fortune, it doesn’t hurt me one bit.
Where to start...
Does anyone know if any of the Home Builders received a bail out?
Did the NAR get a hand out ?
I dont recall any big corporation telling people to go out get the biggest home you can get.
or did they say....
" Buy now or get priced out forever "
" Dont worry, Susan researched it"
" RE beats out all other investments into SP500"
Who was really the ones who screwed you.
FortWayne
2011 Apr 2, 8:30am
Does anyone know if any of the Home Builders received a bail out?
The answer is yes, but I don't remember the details. When bailouts were happening I remember reading a ton of articles on it, home builder bail outs were mentioned very frequently. Quite many were bailed out I think.
I don't know about NAR getting one directly. They get them through housing subsidy indirectly. For example first time home buyer credit is a huge gift to NAR and the banks. Very cozy symbiosis going there.
I guess I make a distinction between corporations and banks. I know that my government was lax, and then bailed out the foolish banks, Chrysler, AIG, which I think sucks. However, I consider this the government screwing us, not the recipients of the taxpayer funded welfare.
Median income has fallen a tad, but median compensation has actually risen. The problem is all the increases in compensation were in medical insurance premiums payed by employers. If workers were instead paid in extra cash instead of getting health insurance, then their incomes would have risen, even in real terms.
The answer is yes, but I don’t remember the details. When bailouts were happening I remember reading a ton of articles on it, home builder bail outs were mentioned very frequently. Quite many were bailed out I think.
The bailout of homebuilders was mostly in the form of tax refunds for losses. They made tons of money and paid tons of taxes in the boom. When they started taking tons off losses, they were able to reclaim some of those taxes paid in the form of a tax refund.
I actually think it's totally reasonable. I mean I build 2 homes, and sell one at a $100K profit one year, and the other one at a $100K loss the next year, have I really made a profit? The way tax system is set up you pay taxes on the $100K profit, but the loss is your problem.
If they had been deducting losses against future income they would have been doing do for a LONG time.
The crime is in singling out one industry for this special tax treatment.
American in Japan
2011 Apr 2, 3:27pm
@kimboslice
>The government meddled in energy, and prevented us getting our own energy here (Alaska, off Florida, off California).
Opening up more wilderness in the state for oil drilling won't change the price of oil significantly. Much of this oil is/would be sold on the world market for the going price.
I agree that the US government meddled but in other ways... It meddled by subsidizing gas guzzling SUVs under the Bush administration. The US government also has subsidized ethanol production from corn which is not a good thing for a few reasons (more later if you are interested).
What the government should be doing is giving breaks for owning hybirds and subsidizing research a bit in alternative forms of energy.
Much of this oil is/would be sold on the world market for the going price.
As set by OPEC, we are not a member of OPEC, and can sell at what ever price it may be.
Much of this oil is/would be sold on the world market for the going price.
As set by OPEC, we are not a member of OPEC, and can sell at what ever price it may be.
We? Who's "we"?
The company that extracts the oil sells their products for the highest price they can. Why do you think oil company profits are so high right now?
Just because the oil comes from the USA doesn't mean the US citizens benefit at all from the lower cost of production compared to world market price. 100% of the difference goes to corporate profit.
http://www.deptofnumbers.com/blog/2011/01/ten-years/
House prices, household income, stock prices, jobs were all down.
Corporate profits soared which is a huge disconnect.
Health insurance, oil prices and federal debt were all up significantly.
GDP up mildly, quite a bit below it's potential 3%/year (meaning the US economy, in terms of output, had a below average decade).
Rent was flat.
In the last 10 years, the middle class got screwed big time by corporations and the government.
Real estate and stocks performed poorly, cost of living increased substantially, the American government put itself into a huge amount of debt. Meanwhile corporations were making record profits. Renting was not a terrible option compared to owning a home.
Economically, the past decade was miserable.
#housing