FACING FACTS ON AMERICA’S (AND NEW YORK’S) ECO
Post# of 50629
New York Post
"Democrats — especially Hillary Clinton and President Obama — desperately want Americans to think the US economy’s finally back on track. If only."
"On Tuesday, the Census Bureau announced a 5.2 percent uptick in median household income — to $55,516 — in 2015. That, after years of wage growth ranging from minuscule to nonexistent.
If that meant the economy’s humming at last, then Obamanomics — high taxes and spending, big-time redistribution and heaps of new regulations — might be vindicated. And Hillary’s promise of more of the same might seem logical.
Truth is, America’s in a slump — has been for years. That $55,516? Adjusted for inflation, it’s lower than it was in 2007.
Then, too, changes in how income is calculated make the 2015 figure seem higher. It also reflects the rise in college grads moving back with mom and dad: Their wages (from Starbucks or whatever) get counted as part of the “household’s” — distorting the numbers even more.
Here are the key facts: Growth for 2016 is stuck at just 1 percent. Obama is set to be the first president in US history not to see more than 3 percent growth in any year in office. Huge numbers of workers have completely given up on finding a job.
Harvard’s US Competitiveness Project summed up the report by calling for, among other things: lower and simpler taxes, better “energy infrastructure” and streamlined regulation.
All key priorities in the economic speech Donald Trump delivered Thursday here in New York
“Instead of driving jobs and wealth away, America will become the world’s great magnet for innovation and job creation,” Trump said. “The only thing [Clinton] can ever offer is a welfare check. Our plan will produce paychecks".”