Survey of Family Finances, 2007-2010

Wealth Destruction, 2007-2010

The Fed has published its survey of family finances from 2007 to 2010. The data are as depressing as you would expect, as they measure some aspects of the economic collapse that began in 2008. The period covered is that during which the Democrats had full control over Congress (January 2007 through January 2011), but that is mostly coincidental; the Democrats’ dominance was only one of many factors at work.

At a high level, the Fed survey reveals that both income and wealth were hit hard during the time covered by study. Median real income fell by 7.7%, with the decline affecting all income groups except “retirees and other nonworking families.” Some would say that is because the public sector–its entitlement arm, anyway–is doing fine. The story with respect to wealth is even worse. Median net worth declined by 40%, erasing 18 years of savings and investment for the average family. Much of that decline, but by no means all, related to home prices.

If you follow the link, you can peruse the data at your leisure–there is a lot there to see. Unfortunately, published data always lag behind current events, so the Fed’s survey doesn’t shed as much light as it might on the real problem: not the recession, but the pathetic recovery from the recession. Have things gotten better since 2010? Slightly, perhaps, but nowhere near enough. That is a story that remains to be told another day.

JOE adds: The Journal today reports on yet another aspect–private family wealth is being vacuumed up as inheritances slacken, baby boomers’ parents live longer on government health care, boomers’ savings accounts fail to realize the inheritances they once loosely planned around. This business of destroying private wealth and recycling cash into the federal system is deadly, deadly business. A twitch upon the thread…

John Hinderaker    at  PowerLine

(I wonder who Joe is.   But the article tells alot anyway.

Obama Ad Calls for Black Vote because of Obama’s Black Parent

from realclearpolitics videos:

Obama Ad Targets Blacks: “Show The President We Have His Back”

“Four years ago we made history,” a male announcer says. “Now it’s time to move forward and finish what we started together. We have to show the President we have his back.” The spot is inter-cut with audio from President Obama’s speeches, touching on familiar political and campaign themes.

“I refuse to pay for another millionaire’s tax cut by kicking children off of Head Start programs; asking students to pay more for college; or eliminating health insurance for millions of poor and elderly and disabled Americans on Medicaid,” Obama says in the ad.

“Have the president’s back and register to vote. Go to GottaVote.org to register now. That’s GottaVote.org,” the announcer said at the end.

Click below for video:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2012/06/11/obama_radio_ad_targets_blacks_show_the_president_we_have_his_back.html

The “Smartest Man in the White House” according to St. Obama, Doesn’t Mention He Controls the Senate

President Obama tries to change the subject

by Chris Cillizza  at   The Fix:

President Obama’s decision to make remarks  and take questions from reporters — Friday morning on the economy was a seemingly obvious attempt to pivot away from his worst week, politically speaking, in months.

It almost certainly won’t work, however, because Obama offered little new in terms of policy and adopted a largely presidential — rather than a political — approach to the questions reporters posed to him.

Obama’s main message on Friday was the same one that he has advocated for months and months. In short: There are jobs proposals that he has offered to Congress that they have refused to act on. They should do so. Immediately — if not sooner. (Obama uttered the words “right now” in relation to when Congress should act no less than four times in his prepared statement.)

The problem with that argument is that anyone who follows politics at all closely knows that there is a zero percent chance of any movement on other portions of the jobs bill prior to the election.

What Obama is trying to do then is what he has been trying to do for months, which is lay the blame for the lack of job growth at the feet of Republicans in Congress.

While it’s not a bad strategy to run against Congress — particularly given the rampant unpopularity of that institution — there are two potential problems with Obama’s strategy.

The first is that Democrats control the Senate, a fact that allows Republicans to muddy the political waters when it comes to what role Congress has played in blocking progress on jobs.

Second, and more importantly, history has shown that the American public broadly believes the stewardship of the economy is the responsibility of the president. What that means is that when economic times are good, the president — whether Democrat or Republican — gets more credit than he probably should, and when economic times are bad he gets more blame.

(Also keep an eye on President Obama’s statement that “the private sector is doing fine” — a line Republicans are sure to seize on.)

Aside from introducing nothing new — rhetorically or policy-wise — in today’s press conference, the other reason Obama won’t likely see the subject changed heading into the weekend is that he seemed reluctant to look even a tiny bit like a candidate while standing at the presidential podium.

Howard Carr Lightens up our Day Describing the Obama-Biden Presidential Team.

IT’S NO FUN BEING A MOONBAT ANYMORE!

By Howard Carr  at  the Boston Herald:

You didn’t get invited to Barney Frank’s wedding in Newton. That “Elizabeth Warren for Massachusetts” bumper sticker on your Prius has become a magnet for roadway ridicule.

But worst of all is what’s happened to your hero, Barack Hussein Obama. The emperor has no clothes. Mighty Casey has struck out.

Everything was so much simpler when George Bush was president.

Was it a mere four years ago when Barack modestly predicted that just his nomination alone would be the moment “when the rise of the oceans began to slow?” On Friday — exactly four years and four days after the seas started receding — the modern Moses conceded that housing in the U.S. is “underwater,” and that he hasn’t done squat about it.

But hasn’t he brought down the gas prices to $3.50 a gallon? Only $1.61 more to go and they’ll be back to where they were on Bush’s last day in office.

How can Barack be trailing the vulture capitalist Mitt Romney in Michigan? Don’t these bitter clingers read The New York Times [NYT]?

Even Chris Matthews’ leg has stopped tingling.

In 2008, everything was, you’ll pardon the expression, black and white. Predator-drone attacks under Bush — unconstitutional genocidal terrorism. Five times as many Predator-drone attacks under Barack — brilliant strategy by our wartime president.

Whatever happened to anti-war candlelight vigils? You see them on TV about as often as you watch military coffins being unloaded at Dover AFB.

Which is to say, never.

Campaign spending was never an issue in 2008 when Barack was grinding McCain’s moneymen into the dust. Then money was the mother’s milk of politics. Now, this George, er Mitt Romney, is lowering the boom on His Wonderfulness.

A national scandal is what these super-PAC’s are. Somebody call George Soros.

As a loyal moonbat, you’d love to respond to Jim Messina’s endless email money grovels. But the trust funds Pater and Mumsy set up for you just aren’t getting nearly the returns they did in the bad old days when Dick Cheney was unleashing hurricanes to ravage New Orleans.

The economy is “unexpectedly” sliding yet again, as the network anchors always say, but it’s not Barack’s fault. It can’t be. He went to Harvard. It’s all caused by those “headwinds” from Europe, that’s what Jim Cramer blamed it on this week. And before that it was the warm winter, or the Japanese tsunami, and don’t forget the early Easter, or was it the late Easter and, and … George Bush!

Doesn’t anyone remember Bush’s jobless recovery — when unemployment was at 4.5 per cent.

Now 3 million citizens have vanished from the work force and  unemployment is 8.2 per cent.  Tis’s the new normal.

Whatever happened to “9/11 — An Inside Job?” Michael Moore and Cindy Sheehan have vanished into the Witness Protection Program. Nancy Pelosi is babbling about ghosts in the White House. Guys in white coats are chasing the vice president with a net as he raves about “crops that don’t depend on soil, water, or fertilizer”.