I thought we were in the best economy ever?

[iluvatar5150]

I already stated how it is.

I've already pointed out how your claims are bogus.

 

[Ken-1122]

However, this does not erase the fact that your hero Trump blatantly lied when he claimed that he had created jobs at a faster rate than during Obama’s tenure. The numbers, unfortunately for him, don’t lie.

His statements about raising wages are similarly a lie. Inflation-adjusted wages have risen by 2.4% under Trump. They were at 4.9% under Obama...and that’s from YOUR source...!

Under Obama we came out of one of the worse recessions since the Great Depression, so we went from record lows to a reasonable high. Under Trump we went from a reasonable high to a record high.

As far as trump claiming he created jobs or raised wages, of course he is going to say that; that’s the type of person he is. Politicians don’t raise wages or create jobs, the private sector does that. The only thing a politician can do is get government out of the way and allow the Private sector do it’s job; and that is all Trump did; he got rid of regulations and lowered taxes; much of the regulations and taxes he got rid of were those Obama put in place that was strangling the economy, So if he wants to take credit for something it should be for getting the government out of the way to allow business to create jobs and raise wages, he shouldn’t be trying to take credit for actually creating jobs IMO.

 

[Ken-1122]

42% of the American workforce are *actually getting paid* less than $15/hr.

42%? Wow that's gotta be a record! It used to be over 50%. 42% has got to be the lowest it's ever been.

 

[TLK Valentine]

if accurate, why did reversing them make it get better?

It didn't -- Donald can't keep up with Obama's rate of improvement.

 

[Belk]

Simple math: You can't decrease the national debt without increasing taxes.

Tell me how tax cuts would put more money into the U.S. Treasury.

Why would I bother telling you something I don't think to be true?

 

[iluvatar5150]

Politicians don’t raise wages or create jobs, the private sector does that. The only thing a politician can do is get government out of the way and allow the Private sector do it’s job;

I don't know why people say this - it's like people read Ayn Rand and never go outside and take a look around. The government can absolutely create jobs. The most obvious, but hardly the only, example is by increasing direct government employment. Bigger military? Jobs! Bigger police force? Jobs! Lower student:teacher ratio? Jobs! More trash collection? Jobs! Public transit? Jobs!

Close to that is private subcontracting for government agencies, which covers most of the civilian military & space work, as well as a good chunk of prisons.

But beyond that, government is a big funder of basic scientific research, which creates jobs conducting research, and also in industry exploiting that research.

Government commissions most of our transportation infrastructure, which creates jobs building the infrastructure and supports the creation of other private sector jobs.

Various economic policies (i.e. taxes and subsidies) juice certain markets and encourage job growth. A good example of this is the federal backing of home mortgages and the resulting jobs in the real estate and construction industries.

and that is all Trump did; he got rid of regulations and lowered taxes; much of the regulations and taxes he got rid of were those Obama put in place that was strangling the economy,

I'm still waiting for someone to point to some specific regulations that he got rid of and describe for me 1.) how they were "strangling the economy" and 2.) how their removal has caused some of the growth we're seeing now.

Care to take a stab at it? (and just posting a list of all the executive orders he's signed doesn't count)

 

[gaara4158]

42%? Wow that's gotta be a record! It used to be over 50%. 42% has got to be the lowest it's ever been.

And $15 “used to” buy you dinner, drinks, and a bed for the night. Don’t be disingenuous. 42% of working Americans earning less than $15/hr and 51% earning less than $30k/year (this accounts for salary/part time workers) is staggering. There’s no spinning that into a tale of a booming economy. This is a tale of class struggles.

 

[Ken-1122]

That’s not how investment works. You’re entitled to a share of the profits IF the company as a whole turns a profit.

That's what I said! As an investor, I'm entitled to profits! Sounds like you are finally agreeing with me.

 

[GodLovesCats]

Why would I bother telling you something I don't think to be true?

You can think something is true when it is not, of course. Many people honestly think Jesus is not God.

 

[durangodawood]

Thank you.. I believe we are in the best one.. .. I guess its who you listen to or read. When I read a story I look at many sites to see if the one punishing ..which way to they lean. And in this case the one does. For me.. it matters. Forgive me not trying to offend.

Personal credit card debt is the highest ever.

Just something to keep in mind.

 

[gaara4158]

That's what I said! As an investor, I'm entitled to profits! Sounds like you are finally agreeing with me.

You didn’t include that caveat at first. You’re entitled to the value of the share you purchased, whether it appreciates or not. You are not entitled to profits simply by being an investor. The company is not obligated to turn a profit for you.

 

[grasping the after wind]

Trump is reducing a planned 2.5% federal pay increase to 1%, citing a “national emergency or serious economic conditions affecting the general welfare” as justification. So which is it - is our economy the best its ever been, or are we facing "serious economic conditions"?

Trump Cuts Scheduled Federal Pay Raise, Citing “Serious Economic Conditions” in the Country

The economy is doing nicely. The Federal deficit however is a national emergency a serious economic condition affecting the general welfare. A 1% pay hike for already extremely overpaid federal workers is actually way too generous. A pay cut would be more in keeping with the situation/.

 

[iluvatar5150]

The economy is doing nicely. The Federal deficit however is a national emergency a serious economic condition affecting the general welfare. A 1% pay hike for already extremely overpaid federal workers is actually way too generous. A pay cut would be more in keeping with the situation/.

What makes you think federal workers are "extremely overpaid"?

 

[grasping the after wind]

What makes you think federal workers are "extremely overpaid"?

They make so much more than I do and my business is not trillions of dollars in the red.

 

[iluvatar5150]

They make so much more than I do and my business is not trillions of dollars in the red.

What do you, what sort of qualifications & experience do you have, where do you live, and how much do you make? And how much does a federal worker make doing the same job with similar answers to those questions?

 

[grasping the after wind]

What do you, what sort of qualifications & experience do you have, where do you live, and how much do you make? And how much does a federal worker make doing the same job with similar answers to those questions?

I own a business. My qualifications are that I built it. I live in my house. I make whatever is left over after I pay all my expenses. that varies from one day to the next. No federal worker does what I do. Not one cent of my income is taken away from a federal worker by coercive force and given to me. No federal worker can say the same thing about their income. Federal worker's wages are based upon removing money from people that have earned it in a competitive market. The government is a monopoly where the workers are represented by a union that contributes huge amounts of money collected through union dues to the campaigns of people that get to decide what to pay those workers. Those deciders know that the more the workers are paid the more unions can collect and the more they will contribute to campaigns for those deciders willing to increase wages. I only have customers deciding what they will pay for my services based upon what they believe those services are worth. Over the course of many years I have had to be a customer of the federal government. Using some of the services the federal government insists that I use whether I want those services or not. As a customer of the Federal government I find the price unreasonable and the service poor.

 

[TLK Valentine]

What makes you think federal workers are "extremely overpaid"?

Service to Donald is its own reward.

 

[iluvatar5150]

I own a business. My qualifications are that I built it. I live in my house. I make whatever is left over after I pay all my expenses. that varies from one day to the next. No federal worker does what I do.

That makes your standard for judging them as overpaid a little ridiculous, doesn't it? Maybe they're not overpaid - maybe you're underpaid. Or (*checks your profile*) you live in a small town in an economically-depressed region with few potential clients. Or maybe you're just bad at the business. Why would you base their value on what you do when you admit the two aren't comparable?

Not one cent of my income is taken away from a federal worker by coercive force and given to me.

I'm sure if I dug through your financials, I could find something coming your way from the feds. Maybe it's income. Maybe it's a tax break. Heck, I know that since you live upstate, you get a greater share of state revenues going to your area than you send taxes to Albany.

 

[rjs330]

The cost of living keeps rising and the minimum wage is not catching up.

Remember what Bernie Sanders said at the 2016 DNC: "Let's make minimum wage LIVING wage!"

The minimum wage isnt supposed to be a living wage. It's for entry level type jobs requiring low skills for a temporary time for the majority of workers who take those jobs.

Only about 2% of hourly workers earn minimum wage.
One fifth of hourly wage workers are under 25 yoa. Of those teens make up the majority of minimum wage workers.
Only about 1% of workers over 25 earn minimum wage.

So it's a red hearing to hint that so many people are having to live on minimum wage. It's just not true.

 

[rjs330]

There's no doubt that unemployment dropped under Obama. It was inevitable being it was so high with the horrible economy he inherented. His administration presided over a lowering of unemployment.

However his administration presided over an overall economy that was incredibly weak and anemic. The income growth for Americans was abysmal. American median Income grew 1.6% while under Trump it's increases 6.8%.

And due to the lousy wages Obama had record numbers of people on food stamps. Due to Trump's economy wages are higher and there are 7 million Americans getting off food stamps.

So employment continues to climb, wages are climbing and less people are needing food stamps. There are fewer people that are poor.

So overall we see who has really helped Americans.