poverty

Binders, Stapling Things, Offshore Outsourcing and Women's Work

binderAh, the never ending word gotcha games of Election 2012.   The Internets went abuzz with binders as a symbol of female oppression after the second Presidential debate.   We even have Amazon office binder reviews being carpet bombed with political statements.   While funny as hell, economic oppression of women is not so funny.   Nor is it a word game.

Low Income Households Have Expenses More Than Twice Their Income

A shocking claim was made by various press sources that those at the bottom of the American economic pile have living expenses which are double their income.

The bottom fifth of the U.S. income distribution -- 24.4 million households -- on average earned $10,074 in after-tax annual income and spent $22,001 last year,

Wage Statistics Paint a Bleak Picture for Working America

Most economists and the press look at personal income to think about America and wages. But there is another set of statistics which paints an even more stark picture. The social security administration publishes wage data, the last year available is 2010. While the average wage was $39,959.30, 66.2% of wage earners make less than this amount The median wage is $26,363.55. That means 50% of all wage earners in the United States earned less than $26,363.55 annually. That's poor.

workers per wage 2010

14.9% of America is on Food Stamps

Think things are getting better? Think again. Food stamp usage is actually up from the latest data. As of June 2012, 46,670,373 people are on food stamps in the United States. That's 14.9% or less than 1 in 7 people are on food assistance. The United States population in June 2012 was 314,067,000 and this figure includes everyone, including people overseas. Food stamp usage increased 3.3% from June 2011 and 0.4% from May 2012.

food stamps usage

Headlines Blare Americans Lose 40% of Their Wealth Yet Income Decline is the Real Horror Story

The Federal Reserve released a report, the 2010 Survey of Consumer Finances. This is a report on household wealth from 2007-2010, removing effects of inflation. No surprise, median net worth declined by 38.8% from 2007 to 2010 and is down to 1992 levels. Why this should be no surprise is due to the housing bubble and declining home values. A home is the largest asset many people have.

Boo Hoo Wisconsin! Walker Wins and Unions Lose

wisconsin cheese landBoo Hoo Wisconsin! You did not remove one of the most inane, toxic governors out to destroy the middle class with nonsensical economic agendas. Regardless of party, Walker's attack on collective bargaining was simply an attack on working people. Yet somehow envy that some workers have managed to hang onto pensions and health care which won't send them into poverty enrages others who do not have wages, pensions and benefits. So angry Wisconsin, instead of demanding higher wages, pensions and better health care for themselves gave the very people was are out to destroy them, carte blanche, a mandate to continue to do just that!   Why not, let's destroy pensions, worker rights, wages and jobs, instead of being outraged that our financial livelihoods are under attack! Just today Republicans blocked a bill to address equal pay for women, yet will those Senators be recalled? Nope, and they probably won't lose their elections over it either.

How did this all happen? Back in March of last year, Wisconsin did the nasty against labor. Unions tried to stop it and literally Governor Walker sic'ed the state police on some state Democratic Senators who were trying to stop the railroading of workers.

Saturday Reads Around the Internets - Over Half of New College Grads Can't Find a Job in 2011

shocknews Welcome to the weekly roundup of great articles, facts and figures. These are the weekly finds that made our eyes pop.

 

53.6% of New College Grads are Jobless or Underemployed in 2011

Dr. Andrew Sum crunched the numbers and for those graduating from college with a Bachelors we have some startling news. A whopping 53.6% of those under the age of 25 who have a college degree are either unemployed or unable to land a job in a field associated with their college major. Associated Press:

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