'Why don't people see that the economy is doing well?'

[Dawgs]

Yesterday I heard Sean Hannity ask this question.

Well, here's why Sean.

Then
Under Clinton (before YOUR President) the economy was thriving and most people were making lots of many.

Three Years Ago
Many of those people were looking for jobs; which means that many were out of work for a long period of time. If they found a job, it was probably less than they were making prior to Bush's recession.

Now (In your great new economy)
Let's look at how people's incomes have changed over the past years. If they haven't lost their job.
1) Those lower salaries are still the same.
2) Minimum wage hasn't gone up in 9 years.
3) Most people are spending anywhere from $40-$100 more a month on gas.
4) YOUR Republican tax cuts are giving people about ~$4 more a month.
5) The only extra money people have made has been thru home equity loans, but...
6) Now they might have $1,500 a month in a mortgage payment instead of $750 (new home purchases), and that ARM they got is hurting them because of higher interest rates.
7) Tuitions, Grocery costs, and Healthcare costs have all gone up.
etc, etc, etc...

Oh yeah, I forgot about the great 'screw those in need' Republican bankruptcy plan.

The point is people's financial lives have either stayed the same or, in most cases, gotten worse. They really don't care that the super rich and corporations are making huge profits Sean.

Can you guys add anything else to my list? I want to use this with some people who are still on the dark side.

[Fleshdancer]

1. I wish we could force all the politicians and blow hards to....

live on minimum wage and no health insurance for 3 months. Only then will they comprehend the situation most Americans deal with every day.

[nickinSTL]

12. needs to be longer than 3 months....

they'd need to not believe that it's of short duration. It'd be a lot easier for them to lie to themselves if they thought they'd be going back to their cushy lifestyle soon.

[Fleshdancer]

15. sadly, I think you're right n/t

[sweetheart]

16. the school for blowhards

To teach a blowhard, take away all their posessions and their
finances ad leave them homeless in a major american city to
get back on their feet by themselves. Then they are worthy
for office. Then they will see what regular people see every
day, and live with being a poor unwanted nobody.

Heck, no health insurance, how about no money at all and
homeless, already your clothes needing a wash. No "call a friend",
just do it themselves... it would make for a good reality TV show.

[Fleshdancer]

17. now THAT is a plan!

I'd watch it. :D

[sweetheart]

18. So would I

I wonder if such an easy-to-film think, gosh,
theres gotta be a creative film maker and a politician somewhere..

Sterling... Do you do this sort of thing?

[Canuckistanian]

2. Yes, I heard that

They kept going on and on about the stock market and how good it was. Funny, but I don't see that many people who make a living off stock dividends.

Then they went on about how the tax breaks "will continue to bring more prosperity". Yeah, right, maybe for those who are prosperous already.

I noticed they skipped the statistics on bankrupties and the steady increase of those without health insurance because they can't afford it.

[MessiahRp]

3. I'll add another to your great list...

A large portion of the jobs you see hiring are now all through temp agencies. Meaning there's no benefits, no long term stability and while it counts as a new hire, the corporations can keep that number up by using a revolving door system of hiring and releasing temps.

That's not creating new jobs, that's giving people a nibble at self-sustainability only to pull the rug out from under them.

Remember this Bush economy is all about cheap labor where you dodge the benefits and overtime pay.

Rp

[dysfunctional press]

4. people with adjustable rate mortgages have only themselves to blame

you should always consider the worst case scenario when it comes to getting a mortgage...ARMs are for suckers.

[acmejack]

7. Ah it's good to be sanctimonious...

[dysfunctional press]

11. sanctimonious...?

sanctimony requires hypocrisy- where's mine?

we don't have an Adjustable Rate Mortgage- we're not stupid.

[Ganja Ninja]

5. Sean is an idiot.

I remember during the Clinton years the news was reporting on a labor shortage. Companies were trying to lure away help from their competitors by offering more money, better benefits and working conditions. They were even looking overseas for help.

Now were losing jobs and benefits and the word "raise" is never heard. And to top it all off the GOP is trying to blame all the problems on illegal immigrants.

Not everybody is as simple minded as Sean thinks. We remember the good times under Clinton. The fake employment numbers and skewed statistics put out by the Bush/GOP lead government aren't fooling us.

[ixion]

6. and the job market is still very tight

it's not a job seeker's market, to be sure.

This is my primary gauge of the economy. In a booming economy, jobs are plentiful and it's a seeker's market, because there are more job positions than skilled workers.

This whole business of a 'jobless' recovery is a bunch of horse-puckey, IMO.

[seabeyond]

8. when wage has stayed the same and expence has risen in all

area, we the people dont have as much money. we are more poor.

i gave hannity the answer as kindergarten as i could

[raccoon]

9. Well, gee, Sean, why not ask...

"Why don't people believe in Santa Claus?"

Even the most hopelessly brainwashed Bushbot can see when his/her standard of living has declined/is declining.

Sean Hannity must be the King/Queen of the media hos.

[MadHound]

10. Then there's the big gorilla in the room

That nobody wants to acknowledge, and that's the fact that this administration is engaging in Enron style accounting practices. When inflation rises, they take gas and food, and trumpet how little the "core" inflation rate is so low, like people can do without gas or food:eyes: Or how their unemployment stats don't can't the people who have been long term unemployed, and in fact, given their methodology, doesn't count the unemployed accurately at all. Or that the GDP figures are being padded with that nebulous hedonic pricing index, along with throwing in those twin temporary asset bubbles of housing prices and low savings rate, which skew the figures upwards all the while mortaging our future.

These are but a few examples of how the government is using statistics to lie and prop up this illusion of a rosy economy. Sure, past administrations have padded the stats, but this administration has taken cooking the books to a fine art.

Meanwhile, ever increasing amounts of people are entering poverty each and every year since 2000. Officially, over 37 million US citizens are below the poverty level, a crime against humanity here in what is supposed to be the "greatest country in the world"(and even those numbers are suspect, given that again, methodology is flawed).

So while corporate heads and talking heads and administration heads all try to talk up the economy, the vast majority of US citizens, even the most die-hard freepers, having this desperate sinking feeling in the pit of their stomach, that feeling that comes from comparing their own personal economics and their view on how the economy is with the official numbers. They're pretty damn sure that something just isn't right, and that they're being fed a line of BS. It is best that they listen to those gut feelings, because any numbers or economic information coming from this administration is highly suspect.

[Jamison]

13. It's b/c the MSM pushes this false propaganda like crack.

Turn on any cable news network channel and all they have to say about the economy is that it's stronger than it has been ever in this nation's history. The truth is not getting out.

[BlueManDude]

14. Keep speaking Sean n/t