Thread: GREAT AGAIN: Middle-class income hit all-time high of $61,372...

Middle-class income rose above $61,000 for the first time last year, U.S. Census Bureau says



BDiego Perez works on a Toll Brothers home on August 21, 2018 in Boca Raton, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images).
By Heather Long and Jeff Stein
September 12 at 5:31 PM

Middle-class income rose to the highest recorded levels in 2017 and the national poverty rate declined as the benefits of the strong economy lifted the fortunes of more Americans, the U.S. Census reported Wednesday.
The median U.S. household earned $61,372 last year, meaning half of the families in the country brought in more income than this and half earned less.
Crossing the $61,000 mark signals the American middle-class may have finally earned more than it did in 1999, although the Census Bureau cautions that median income last year was not statistically different from 1999 or 2007, the last year before the recession. A change in methodology in 2013 makes precise comparisons difficult. All the income figures have been adjusted for inflation and are reported in 2017 dollars.
Middle-class household income has been rising steadily for the past several years as the economy has rebounded from the deep recession and millions of Americans have found jobs again. The extra pay from having another person in the home employed again or working additional hours is the largest factor contributing to rising income, the Census Bureau said.
[For first time since 2010, America’s progress on health insurance stalls]
"We’re continuing to see a shift from part-time to full-time work, so some of that could explain an increase in income,” said Trudi Renwick, an assistant division chief at Census Bureau.
The Census Bureau also reported that the U.S. poverty rate declined modestly to 12.3 percent, the lowest level in more than a decade and a sign the economic devastation from the Great Recession is subsiding.
But by other measures, the economy is still not working as well as it could for everyone. Inequality remains near the highest levels in the modern era, according to various metrics the Census Bureau tracks, and the share of Americans without health insurance stalled last year after several years of progress to extend coverage to more people under the Affordable Care Act.


The percentage of Americans without health insurance was essentially unchanged from 2016 to 2017 — staying at about 8.8 percent, or 28.5 million people — despite the overall economic boom. That marks a leveling off in the decline in the number of Americans without insurance — a number that trended steadily downward from 2010 to 2016, in part due to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
What it will take for more Americans to get ahead is higher hourly wages, said Jared Bernstein, former chief economist to vice president Joe Biden and a senior fellow at the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Much of the income growth in recent years is from people getting jobs again, but economists across the political spectrum agree that wage growth has been disappointing and that the working class would likely be doing even better if pay and productivity would rise.
“Income growth was dominated by putting people back to work after the Great Recession and not wage growth," said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, head of the right-leaning American Action Forum and a former economic adviser to GOP presidential candidates.
Incomes for full-time male and female workers declined slightly last year, the Census Bureau found, a reminder that wage gains have been sluggish and mostly wiped out by rising prices for gas, rent and other necessities.
Holtz-Eakin added that the latest Census Bureau income data is for 2017, before President Trump and GOP leaders in Congress passed tax cuts and scaled back regulations on businesses in an effort to boost economic growth, productivity and wages.
Democrats counter that the tax cuts are mainly helping the wealthiest Americans, and that the GOP wants to do additional tax cuts and scale back the safety net at a time when inequality remains high and many working poor are still struggling.
Last year, 39.7 million Americans were living in poverty, a number that did not decline much from 2016. While the poverty rate is now at the lowest level since 2006, it is still a full percentage point above the rate in 2000, the last time unemployment was this low.
“That surprises me. I was expecting better improvement with the economy,” said H. Luke Shaefer, of the University of Michigan. “It’s something experts and policymakers should take a look at.”
The poverty rates for African-Americans and Hispanics also remain substantially higher than for whites and Asians although the unemployment rates for African-Americans and Hispanics have come down swiftly. Twenty-two percent of African-American households and 19.4 percent of Hispanic households live in poverty compared to 11 percent for whites and 10.1 percent for Asian-Americans, the Census Bureau reported.
“It’s not that growth is failing to reach the middle and low-income entirely. It’s just that there is so much inequality that these folks aren’t getting ahead as quickly as they should,” said Bernstein.
Economists have been worried about why wage growth has been so sluggish lately, but Americans are compensating for that by working longer hours or having another family member find employment. Job openings hit a record high in July, the Labor Department reported this week, and there are now more jobs available than unemployed workers.
Median household income is generally viewed as the best gauge of how a typical middle-class home is faring financially, although households can vary in size from a single person to multiple adults and children residing under the same roof. The average U.S. household has 2.6 people.
Clarification: This story has been updated to make clear that although household median income of $61,372 is the highest ever recorded by the Census Bureau, officials caution the figure is not to be treated as statistically different from previous highs reached in 2007 and 1999. Precise comparisons aren't possible due to a change in methodology in 2013.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...=.2711eb530e39

Stay the course. Stay true to Trump. If you're not on the Trump Train, GET THE HELL ON IT, support this President so he can fix our country. Despite all the obstruction, resistance, criticism, look at what he as done in just 18 months. Imagine with 6 more years and a Republican Congress with at least 60 Republicans Senators, all the wonderful things this President can and will do for our country.

STAY THE COURSE. VOTE REPUBLICAN IN 2018!!

GREAT AGAIN: 72% blue collar optimistic about future...

Jobless Claims Remain at Half-Century Low...

Boom times: 72% blue collar are ‘optimistic about future,’ 67% ‘happy’

by Paul Bedard
| September 13, 2018 11:41 AM

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That recession driven grimness hanging over the workplace has lifted and now workers of all shades are feeling good about their future.
A new survey provided to Secrets said that 72 percent of blue collar workers and 76 percent of white collar workers are optimistic about their future.
What’s more, half feel that it would be easy to find another job if they needed or wanted to.

[Also read: Incomes hit new record high and poverty fell to pre-recession low in 2017]




But in its survey of 1,001 employed workers, Porch, a free online network that links homeowners and repair, renovation and cleaning professionals, found that there is concern about robots and automation.
For example, 29 percent of blue collar workers are worried that their jobs will soon be automated. But for white collar workers it was just 24 percent.




The survey also found that most blue collar and white collar workers are happy, feel respected, and like each other.




Washington Secrets


https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/w...uture-67-happy

Trump effect: Food stamp usage down for EIGHT straight months

GREAT AGAIN: Hispanics flourishing in Trump economy...

Hispanics flourishing in Trump economy

By Alfredo Ortiz, opinion contributor — 09/18/18 11:00 AM EDT


© Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

President Trump's economy is the rising tide that is lifting all boats. This is especially true for Hispanics, who were among the biggest victims of the low-growth, high-regulation economy under President Obama.
Last week, the Census Bureau announced new household income numbers, which showed that median income for Hispanic households grew by 3.7 percent, adjusted for inflation, last year. That’s more than double the increase seen by all households. More Hispanics moved into the upper-income brackets, and fewer remained in the lower ones. That’s welcome news as the nation celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month.
Contrast this to the Obama economy. It took until 2015 for Hispanic household incomes to finally get back to their 2006 levels. For the population as a whole, household incomes remained flat between 2010 and 2014, as President Obama rolled out one job-killing policy after the next.
In addition to rising incomes, there are more job opportunities than ever today for Hispanics. This month, the Labor Department announced that the Hispanic unemployment rate remained at a record low — below 5 percent for the fifth consecutive month. This is less than half the unemployment rate that Hispanics faced as recently as President Obama’s second term. Median weekly earnings for full-time Hispanic employees have grown by 4.3 percent, adjusted for inflation, over the past two years.
So why are Hispanics doing so well under the Trump economy?
President Trump’s pro-growth policies have had a disproportionately positive impact on Hispanics because they are more entrepreneurial than the general population. Hispanics start businesses at a faster rate than any other ethnic group. Since 2007, the number of Latino-owned businesses has grown by nearly 50 percent, nearly double the rate of all other ethnic groups combined. By a far higher margin than the general public, Hispanics believe that you can get ahead by hard work, according to Pew polling.
President Trump’s deregulation and pro-business policies have made it far easier to be entrepreneurial. Exhibit A are the tax cuts that took effect this year. They contain numerous provisions that specifically help entrepreneurs. These include a new 20 percent small business tax deduction that allow entrepreneurs to protect one-fifth of their earnings from taxes, funds that can be used to help their businesses survive and thrive. Most small businesses describe this provision as a “game changer,” according to a recent Bank of America survey.
With Trump unleashing the economy’s animal spirits, entrepreneurs — led by Hispanics — are increasing the long-depressed small business start-up rate. These businesses are more likely to provide good job opportunities to Hispanic job seekers. In fact, one survey shows they plan to hire workers at twice the rate of their non-Hispanic counterparts.
Hispanics also have benefited generally from the growing economy. For example, the number of full-time jobs is rapidly increasing at the expense of part-time jobs. This has helped Hispanics, who also disproportionately work in the service sector, to raise their incomes to a middle-class level because they are able to work more hours.
Given this success, it’s no surprise that Hispanic approval of President Trump is rising. According to a Harvard CAPS/Harris poll this summer, Trump’s approval among Hispanics jumped by 10 percentage points in one month.
President Trump and Republicans can build on this support by continuing to focus on a uniting pro-growth, pro-opportunity message. Like most Americans, Hispanics care about the economy, education and jobs. Republicans shouldn’t get swayed by the siren song of pursuing divisive social issues that may drive up turnout in rural areas but will repel Hispanics and independents in the suburbs where voters will decide control of the House of Representatives.
Electoral success will allow Trump to continue his policy agenda that is delivering historic economic benefits to Hispanics and all Americans.
Alfredo Ortiz is the president and CEO of the Job Creators Network.

https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/...-trump-economy

Sure they are...SEVEN kids, probably pregnant with #8.

Free healthcare, welfare, food stamps, IRS tax refunds.

SEVEN kids in school costs taxpayers $105,000 PER YEAR!

They all lie!

Stuff TWENTY people into one home!

It's disgusting. Importing third world unsustainable "pro-life" problems. UNACCEPTABLE.

Cut off ALL freebies...we will see how "pro-life" they are!!!

Originally Posted by Beezer

Cut off ALL freebies...we will see how "pro-life" they are!!!

EXACTLY.