battle_sight_zero
08-01-2013, 06:24
I have seen these sobering stats posted on several other sites. Scares the heck out of me, and many of these statistics also show why it is important to be prepared, vote and support the 2nd. 1. According to one recent survey (http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/national_world&id=9187957), “four out of five U.S. adults struggle with joblessness, near poverty or reliance on welfare for at least parts of their lives”.
2. The growth rate of real disposable personal income is the lowest that it has been in decades (http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-07-27/recovery-obama-talking-about).
3. Median household income (adjusted for inflation) has fallen by 7.8 percent (http://advisorperspectives.com/dshort/charts/census/monthly-household-income.html?household-income-monthly-median-since-2000.gif) since the year 2000.
4. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-09-12/business/35496368_1_income-inequality-median-household-income-middle-class), the middle class is taking home a smaller share of the overall income pie than has ever been recorded before.
5. The home ownership rate in the United States is the lowest that it has been in 18 years (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-30/american-dream-erased-as-homeownership-at-18-year-low.html).
6. It is more expensive to rent a home in America than ever before. In fact, median asking rent for vacant rental units just hit a brand new all-time record high (http://www.zerohedge.com/print/476995).
7. According to one recent survey, 76 percent (http://money.cnn.com/2013/06/24/pf/emergency-savings/index.html) of all Americans are living paycheck to paycheck.
8. The U.S. economy actually lost 240,000 full-time jobs last month (http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-decline-of-breadwinner-jobs-has-resulted-in-the-longest-bread-lines-in-american-history), and the number of full-time workers in the United States is now about 6 million below (http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/data/LNS12500000.txt) the old record that was set back in 2007.
9. The largest employer in the United States right now is Wal-Mart. The second largest employer in the United States right now is a temp agency (http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/goodbye-full-time-jobs-hello-part-time-jobs-r-i-p-middle-class) (Kelly Services).
10. One out of every ten jobs (http://www.propublica.org/article/the-expendables-how-the-temps-who-power-corporate-giants-are-getting-crushe) in the United States is now filled through a temp agency.
11. According to the Social Security Administration, 40 percent (http://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/netcomp.cgi?year=2011) of all workers in the United States make less than $20,000 a year.
12. The ratio of wages and salaries to GDP is near an all-time record low (http://www.businessinsider.com/profits-high-wages-low-7-2013).
13. The U.S. economy continues to trade good paying jobs (http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/from-good-jobs-to-bad-jobs-to-no-jobs-the-tragic-downfall-of-the-american-worker) for low paying jobs. 60 percent (http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/economic-failure-58-percent-of-the-jobs-being-created-are-low-paying-jobs) of the jobs lost during the last recession were mid-wage jobs, but 58 percent (http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/economic-failure-58-percent-of-the-jobs-being-created-are-low-paying-jobs) of the jobs created since then have been low wage jobs.
14. Back in 1980, less than 30% (http://growth.newamerica.net/sites/newamerica.net/files/policydocs/26-04-11%20Middle%20Class%20Under%20Stress.pdf) of all jobs in the United States were low income jobs. Today, more than 40% (http://growth.newamerica.net/sites/newamerica.net/files/policydocs/26-04-11%20Middle%20Class%20Under%20Stress.pdf) of all jobs in the United States are low income jobs.
15. At this point, one out of every four American workers has a job that pays $10 an hour or less (http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/15-signs-that-the-quality-of-jobs-in-america-is-going-downhill-really-fast).
16. According to one study, between 1969 and 2009 the median wages earned by American men between the ages of 30 and 50 declined by 27 percent (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2011-08-25/obama-seeks-jobs-plan-as-u-s-workingman-status-further-erodes.html) after you account for inflation.
17. In the year 2000, about 17 million (http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/10-amazing-charts-that-demonstrate-the-slow-agonizing-death-of-the-american-worker) Americans were employed in manufacturing. Today, only about 12 million (http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/10-amazing-charts-that-demonstrate-the-slow-agonizing-death-of-the-american-worker) Americans are employed in manufacturing.
18. The United States has lost more than 56,000 manufacturing facilities (http://www.politifact.com/ohio/statements/2011/nov/07/betty-sutton/betty-sutton-says-average-15-us-factories-close-ea/) since 2001.
19. The average number of hours worked per employed person per year has fallen by about 100 (http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/10-amazing-charts-that-demonstrate-the-slow-agonizing-death-of-the-american-worker) since the year 2000.
20. Back in the year 2000, more than 64 percent (http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/data/EMRATIO.txt) of all working age Americans had a job. Today, only 58.7 percent (http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/data/EMRATIO.txt) of all working age Americans have a job.
21. When you total up all working age Americans that do not have a job, it comes to more than 100 million (http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/there-are-100-million-working-age-americans-that-do-not-have-jobs).
22. The average duration of unemployment in the United States isnearly three times (http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/UEMPMEAN) as long as it was back in the year 2000.
23. The percentage of Americans that are self-employed has steadily declined (http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/they-are-murdering-small-business-the-percentage-of-self-employed-americans-is-at-a-record-low) over the past decade and is now at an all-time low.
24. Right now there are 20.2 million Americans (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/13/housing-costs-half-of-income_n_1587865.html) that spend more than half of their incomes on housing. That represents a 46 percent increase from 2001.
25. In 1989, the debt to income ratio of the average American family was about 58 percent (http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2012/09/the-middle-class/). Today it is up to 154 percent (http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2012/09/the-middle-class/).
26. Total U.S. household debt grew from just 1.4 trillion dollars (http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/business/121018/america-middle-class-economic-problems?page=0,1) in 1980 to a whopping 13.7 trillion dollars (http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/business/121018/america-middle-class-economic-problems?page=0,1) in 2007. This played a huge role in the financial crisis of 2008, and the problem still has not been solved.
27. The total amount of student loan debt in the United States recently surpassed the one trillion dollar mark (http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-student-loan-debt-bubble-is-creating-millions-of-modern-day-serfs).
28. Total home mortgage debt in the United States is now about 5 times larger (http://www.businessinsider.com/30-charts-you-must-see-before-buying-a-home-2011-4#-8) than it was just 20 years ago.
29. Back in the year 2000, the mortgage delinquency rate was about 2 percent (http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/DRSFRMACBS). Today, it is nearly 10 percent (http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/DRSFRMACBS).
30. Consumer debt in the United States has risen by a whopping1700% (http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article31784.html) since 1971, and 46% of all Americans (http://blogs.forbes.com/moneybuilder/2010/06/24/one-big-difference-between-chinese-and-american-households-debt/) carry a credit card balance from month to month.
31. In 1999, 64.1 percent (http://www.businessinsider.com/poverty-in-america-2012-9#people-by-type-of-health-insurance-coverage-1999-to-2011-11) of all Americans were covered by employment-based health insurance. Today, only 55.1 percent (http://www.businessinsider.com/poverty-in-america-2012-9#people-by-type-of-health-insurance-coverage-1999-to-2011-11) are covered by employment-based health insurance.
32. One study discovered that approximately 41 percent (http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-08/cf-7mu081908.php) of all working age Americans either have medical bill problems or are currently paying off medical debt, and according to a report published in The American Journal of Medicine medical bills are a major factor in more than 60 percent (http://articles.cnn.com/2009-06-05/health/bankruptcy.medical.bills_1_medical-bills-bankruptcies-health-insurance?_s=PM:HEALTH) of all personal bankruptcies in the United States.
33. Each year, the average American must work 107 days (http://money.cnn.com/2012/04/02/pf/taxes/tax-freedom-day/index.htm?iid=Lead) just to make enough money to pay local, state and federal taxes.
34. Today, approximately 46.2 million (http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/about/overview/) Americans are living in poverty.
35. The number of Americans living in poverty has increased by more than 15 million (http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-09-12/business/35496368_1_income-inequality-median-household-income-middle-class) since the year 2000.
36. Families that have a head of household under the age of 30 have a poverty rate of 37 percent (http://lrfuller.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/the-generation-that-never-stood-a-chance/).
37. At this point, approximately 25 million (http://moneyland.time.com/2012/02/14/romance-real-estate-how-your-housing-situation-affects-your-love-life/#ixzz1n85dX0xm) American adults are living with their parents.
38. In the year 2000, there were only 17 million (http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2012/10/16/decline-of-the-middle-class-behind-the-numbers) Americans on food stamps. Today, there are more than 47 million (http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/34snapmonthly.htm) Americans on food stamps.
39. Back in the 1970s, about one out of every 50 Americans (http://dailycaller.com/2012/12/09/food-stamp-use-reaches-another-high-in-september-47-7-million-participants/) was on food stamps. Today, about one out of every 6.5 Americans is on food stamps.
40. Right now, the number of Americans on food stamps exceeds the entire population of the nation of Spain (http://cnsnews.com/news/article/food-stamp-rolls-america-now-surpass-population-spain).
41. According to one calculation (http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/11/23/Exclusive-Food-Stamp-Recipients-Outnumber-Populations-Of-24-States-Combined), the number of Americans on food stamps now exceeds the combined populations of “Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.”
42. At this point, more than a million (http://www.nlchp.org/view_release.cfm?PRID=148) public school students in the United States are homeless. This is the first time that has ever happened in our history. That number has risen by 57 percent (http://www.nlchp.org/view_release.cfm?PRID=148) since the 2006-2007 school year.
43. According to U.S. Census data, 57 percent (http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2011/12/15/9461848-dismal-prospects-1-in-2-americans-are-now-poor-or-low-income) of all American children live in a home that is either considered to be “poor” or “low income”.
44. In the year 2000, the ratio of social welfare benefits to salaries and wages was approximately 21 percent (http://www.cnbc.com/id/41969508). Today, the ratio of social welfare benefits to salaries and wages is approximately 35 percent (http://www.cnbc.com/id/41969508).
2. The growth rate of real disposable personal income is the lowest that it has been in decades (http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-07-27/recovery-obama-talking-about).
3. Median household income (adjusted for inflation) has fallen by 7.8 percent (http://advisorperspectives.com/dshort/charts/census/monthly-household-income.html?household-income-monthly-median-since-2000.gif) since the year 2000.
4. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-09-12/business/35496368_1_income-inequality-median-household-income-middle-class), the middle class is taking home a smaller share of the overall income pie than has ever been recorded before.
5. The home ownership rate in the United States is the lowest that it has been in 18 years (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-30/american-dream-erased-as-homeownership-at-18-year-low.html).
6. It is more expensive to rent a home in America than ever before. In fact, median asking rent for vacant rental units just hit a brand new all-time record high (http://www.zerohedge.com/print/476995).
7. According to one recent survey, 76 percent (http://money.cnn.com/2013/06/24/pf/emergency-savings/index.html) of all Americans are living paycheck to paycheck.
8. The U.S. economy actually lost 240,000 full-time jobs last month (http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-decline-of-breadwinner-jobs-has-resulted-in-the-longest-bread-lines-in-american-history), and the number of full-time workers in the United States is now about 6 million below (http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/data/LNS12500000.txt) the old record that was set back in 2007.
9. The largest employer in the United States right now is Wal-Mart. The second largest employer in the United States right now is a temp agency (http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/goodbye-full-time-jobs-hello-part-time-jobs-r-i-p-middle-class) (Kelly Services).
10. One out of every ten jobs (http://www.propublica.org/article/the-expendables-how-the-temps-who-power-corporate-giants-are-getting-crushe) in the United States is now filled through a temp agency.
11. According to the Social Security Administration, 40 percent (http://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/netcomp.cgi?year=2011) of all workers in the United States make less than $20,000 a year.
12. The ratio of wages and salaries to GDP is near an all-time record low (http://www.businessinsider.com/profits-high-wages-low-7-2013).
13. The U.S. economy continues to trade good paying jobs (http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/from-good-jobs-to-bad-jobs-to-no-jobs-the-tragic-downfall-of-the-american-worker) for low paying jobs. 60 percent (http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/economic-failure-58-percent-of-the-jobs-being-created-are-low-paying-jobs) of the jobs lost during the last recession were mid-wage jobs, but 58 percent (http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/economic-failure-58-percent-of-the-jobs-being-created-are-low-paying-jobs) of the jobs created since then have been low wage jobs.
14. Back in 1980, less than 30% (http://growth.newamerica.net/sites/newamerica.net/files/policydocs/26-04-11%20Middle%20Class%20Under%20Stress.pdf) of all jobs in the United States were low income jobs. Today, more than 40% (http://growth.newamerica.net/sites/newamerica.net/files/policydocs/26-04-11%20Middle%20Class%20Under%20Stress.pdf) of all jobs in the United States are low income jobs.
15. At this point, one out of every four American workers has a job that pays $10 an hour or less (http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/15-signs-that-the-quality-of-jobs-in-america-is-going-downhill-really-fast).
16. According to one study, between 1969 and 2009 the median wages earned by American men between the ages of 30 and 50 declined by 27 percent (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2011-08-25/obama-seeks-jobs-plan-as-u-s-workingman-status-further-erodes.html) after you account for inflation.
17. In the year 2000, about 17 million (http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/10-amazing-charts-that-demonstrate-the-slow-agonizing-death-of-the-american-worker) Americans were employed in manufacturing. Today, only about 12 million (http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/10-amazing-charts-that-demonstrate-the-slow-agonizing-death-of-the-american-worker) Americans are employed in manufacturing.
18. The United States has lost more than 56,000 manufacturing facilities (http://www.politifact.com/ohio/statements/2011/nov/07/betty-sutton/betty-sutton-says-average-15-us-factories-close-ea/) since 2001.
19. The average number of hours worked per employed person per year has fallen by about 100 (http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/10-amazing-charts-that-demonstrate-the-slow-agonizing-death-of-the-american-worker) since the year 2000.
20. Back in the year 2000, more than 64 percent (http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/data/EMRATIO.txt) of all working age Americans had a job. Today, only 58.7 percent (http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/data/EMRATIO.txt) of all working age Americans have a job.
21. When you total up all working age Americans that do not have a job, it comes to more than 100 million (http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/there-are-100-million-working-age-americans-that-do-not-have-jobs).
22. The average duration of unemployment in the United States isnearly three times (http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/UEMPMEAN) as long as it was back in the year 2000.
23. The percentage of Americans that are self-employed has steadily declined (http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/they-are-murdering-small-business-the-percentage-of-self-employed-americans-is-at-a-record-low) over the past decade and is now at an all-time low.
24. Right now there are 20.2 million Americans (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/13/housing-costs-half-of-income_n_1587865.html) that spend more than half of their incomes on housing. That represents a 46 percent increase from 2001.
25. In 1989, the debt to income ratio of the average American family was about 58 percent (http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2012/09/the-middle-class/). Today it is up to 154 percent (http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2012/09/the-middle-class/).
26. Total U.S. household debt grew from just 1.4 trillion dollars (http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/business/121018/america-middle-class-economic-problems?page=0,1) in 1980 to a whopping 13.7 trillion dollars (http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/business/121018/america-middle-class-economic-problems?page=0,1) in 2007. This played a huge role in the financial crisis of 2008, and the problem still has not been solved.
27. The total amount of student loan debt in the United States recently surpassed the one trillion dollar mark (http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-student-loan-debt-bubble-is-creating-millions-of-modern-day-serfs).
28. Total home mortgage debt in the United States is now about 5 times larger (http://www.businessinsider.com/30-charts-you-must-see-before-buying-a-home-2011-4#-8) than it was just 20 years ago.
29. Back in the year 2000, the mortgage delinquency rate was about 2 percent (http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/DRSFRMACBS). Today, it is nearly 10 percent (http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/DRSFRMACBS).
30. Consumer debt in the United States has risen by a whopping1700% (http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article31784.html) since 1971, and 46% of all Americans (http://blogs.forbes.com/moneybuilder/2010/06/24/one-big-difference-between-chinese-and-american-households-debt/) carry a credit card balance from month to month.
31. In 1999, 64.1 percent (http://www.businessinsider.com/poverty-in-america-2012-9#people-by-type-of-health-insurance-coverage-1999-to-2011-11) of all Americans were covered by employment-based health insurance. Today, only 55.1 percent (http://www.businessinsider.com/poverty-in-america-2012-9#people-by-type-of-health-insurance-coverage-1999-to-2011-11) are covered by employment-based health insurance.
32. One study discovered that approximately 41 percent (http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-08/cf-7mu081908.php) of all working age Americans either have medical bill problems or are currently paying off medical debt, and according to a report published in The American Journal of Medicine medical bills are a major factor in more than 60 percent (http://articles.cnn.com/2009-06-05/health/bankruptcy.medical.bills_1_medical-bills-bankruptcies-health-insurance?_s=PM:HEALTH) of all personal bankruptcies in the United States.
33. Each year, the average American must work 107 days (http://money.cnn.com/2012/04/02/pf/taxes/tax-freedom-day/index.htm?iid=Lead) just to make enough money to pay local, state and federal taxes.
34. Today, approximately 46.2 million (http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/about/overview/) Americans are living in poverty.
35. The number of Americans living in poverty has increased by more than 15 million (http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-09-12/business/35496368_1_income-inequality-median-household-income-middle-class) since the year 2000.
36. Families that have a head of household under the age of 30 have a poverty rate of 37 percent (http://lrfuller.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/the-generation-that-never-stood-a-chance/).
37. At this point, approximately 25 million (http://moneyland.time.com/2012/02/14/romance-real-estate-how-your-housing-situation-affects-your-love-life/#ixzz1n85dX0xm) American adults are living with their parents.
38. In the year 2000, there were only 17 million (http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2012/10/16/decline-of-the-middle-class-behind-the-numbers) Americans on food stamps. Today, there are more than 47 million (http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/34snapmonthly.htm) Americans on food stamps.
39. Back in the 1970s, about one out of every 50 Americans (http://dailycaller.com/2012/12/09/food-stamp-use-reaches-another-high-in-september-47-7-million-participants/) was on food stamps. Today, about one out of every 6.5 Americans is on food stamps.
40. Right now, the number of Americans on food stamps exceeds the entire population of the nation of Spain (http://cnsnews.com/news/article/food-stamp-rolls-america-now-surpass-population-spain).
41. According to one calculation (http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/11/23/Exclusive-Food-Stamp-Recipients-Outnumber-Populations-Of-24-States-Combined), the number of Americans on food stamps now exceeds the combined populations of “Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.”
42. At this point, more than a million (http://www.nlchp.org/view_release.cfm?PRID=148) public school students in the United States are homeless. This is the first time that has ever happened in our history. That number has risen by 57 percent (http://www.nlchp.org/view_release.cfm?PRID=148) since the 2006-2007 school year.
43. According to U.S. Census data, 57 percent (http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2011/12/15/9461848-dismal-prospects-1-in-2-americans-are-now-poor-or-low-income) of all American children live in a home that is either considered to be “poor” or “low income”.
44. In the year 2000, the ratio of social welfare benefits to salaries and wages was approximately 21 percent (http://www.cnbc.com/id/41969508). Today, the ratio of social welfare benefits to salaries and wages is approximately 35 percent (http://www.cnbc.com/id/41969508).