And the Seattle Times had the headline today

Post #254,944 by tuberculosis 5/10/06 11:59:24 AM Reply	And the Seattle Times had the headline today [link\|http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002983848_economy10.html\|http://seattletimes....48_economy10.html] Why does a good economy not feel that way? The U.S. economy is strong when measured by macro-statistics, but sluggish wage growth, rising gasoline prices and interest rates, and the gloomy background music from the Iraq war are overshadowing the good economic news in the minds of most Americans. ----------- Because the only "people" doing well are corporations and the wealthy. Duh. Unemployment is at historic lows? Then why are wages still low? Perhaps the unemployment percentage should take into account all the global workers that could do your job if you speak up about your wages. [link\|http://www.blackbagops.net\|Black Bag Operations Log] [link\|http://www.objectiveclips.com\|Artificial Intelligence] [link\|http://www.badpage.info/seaside/html\|Scrutinizer]
Post #254,955 by bepatient 5/10/06 12:52:13 PM Reply	Because wage growth is a laggard in recoveries and was particularly slow in this one. But it is growing now...at about 4% (real terms not nominal). [link\|http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/webfeatures_econindicators_jobspict_20060505\|http://www.epi.org/c...jobspict_20060505] There are still some gaps...but the expansion seems to be closing them...and this surprises me greatly given the oil shock and the Katrina disaster. If you push something hard enough, it will fall over. _{Fudd's First Law of Opposition} [link\|mailto:bepatient@aol.com\|BePatient]
Post #254,959 by Another Scott 5/10/06 1:16:02 PM Reply	Doesn't look so rosy in the BLS numbers. 5 kB .img x 2 [link\|http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/SurveyOutputServlet?data_tool=latest_numbers&series_id=CIS1010000000000Q\|Bureau of Labor Statistics - 3 month Percentage Change - All Civilian Workers - Seasonally Adjusted] [image\|http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/graphics/CIS1010000000000Q_54119_1147280990119.gif\|0\|BLS Chart\|300\|600] Similarly, for private industry, we have this chart: [image\|http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/graphics/CIS2010000000000Q_54218_1147281158260.gif\|0\|BLS Chart 2\|300\|600] There's been a long-term trend down over the past 5+ years and it'll take more than a one-month or one-quarter blip to convince me that it has changed. :-( Cheers, Scott.
Post #254,960 by bepatient 5/10/06 1:20:46 PM Reply	Because they include employer's cost of healthcare which is going to drag that number significantly Includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. If you push something hard enough, it will fall over. _{Fudd's First Law of Opposition} [link\|mailto:bepatient@aol.com\|BePatient]
Post #254,962 by Another Scott 5/10/06 1:37:01 PM Reply	But drag the numbers UP, nicht wahr?
Post #254,963 by bepatient 5/10/06 2:02:16 PM Reply	Not necessarily, though at face you would think so. Healthcare benefits and other benefits have been getting hammered over the past 2 years..especially if you consider pensioner benefits in those calculations. For instance, to offset healthcare increases (which have actually slowed a bit) many employers have stopped some other benefits altogether...like emergency assistance programs, legal advise programs, family crisis programs, etc.... In the early 90s when I was the "salary budget guy" in my corp, our benefit estimate as a percentage of wages was 33%. The numbers I see now in most calculations is 26-28%. This is due to 1) a shift in the amount of copay to the employee and 2) the elimation of other benefits. If you push something hard enough, it will fall over. _{Fudd's First Law of Opposition} [link\|mailto:bepatient@aol.com\|BePatient]
Post #255,173 by tuberculosis 5/12/06 1:27:11 AM Reply	We shall see - so far I'm still on the down side of the curv Which is to say - I get the same number of dollars as I did 2 years ago (no raises), costs are higher across the board, and my health care shifted from $15 to $25 copays (of which I have at least one a week). Still down 35% in uncorrected dollars over 4 years ago and barely even with uncorrected dollars from 1997. Not good. Nor do I actually believe this "recovery" applies to anyone not virtual. OTOH, congress seems determined to give away any gains to the toppers with their latest tax cut fiasco - all of which is just giving away borrowed money and sticking me with the interest payments. WTF? [link\|http://www.blackbagops.net\|Black Bag Operations Log] [link\|http://www.objectiveclips.com\|Artificial Intelligence] [link\|http://www.badpage.info/seaside/html\|Scrutinizer]

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