Curators note: The New York Times has written a series of articles on the Great Recession, which began 10 years ago this month. There are many different perspectives on the economy to consider, but they should all be placed in the context of the following timeline of facts:
- Under Republican policies for eight years, the US economy suffered a dramatic set back — “Wall Street vs. Main Street”.
- Obama, and his team, took extraordinary measures in the first year to limit the damage, including bailing out the auto industry, passing legislation to protect the consumer and so much more
- Obama, and most economists, recommended a stimulus package in the early years that would likely have put the economy on it’s feet sooner but was blocked by a Republican Congress
- In spite of that, Obama led the recovery of our economy and produced excellent results, some much better than we are seeing now
- We are now living in an economy that has been stimulated and “supercharged” in the short term by corporate tax cuts and budget deficits.
- On average, over the past ten years, household income may have reached 2007 levels.
- But . . . net worth is still down, employment is uncertain, income inequality is much worse, the top 10% own 80-90% of the stock market and essentials are much more expensive — housing, healthcare and education.
- We are all in for a rough economic ride as we pay down the debt and overcome the disastrous excesses of the Trump administration, enabled by a Republican Congress.
WASHINGTON — The income of the median American household has finally rebounded from the damage caused by the 2008 financial crisis, a significant milestone in the nation’s painfully slow economic recovery.
Median household income reached $61,372 in 2017, the Census Bureau reported on Wednesday, a number that it said was statistically indistinguishable from the median on the cusp of the crisis, in 2007.
The Trump administration, in a statement released by the White House Council of Economic Advisers, hailed the report as an indication of a strengthening American economy. “The effects of the strong economy are reaching Americans throughout the United States,” the statement said, adding, “The news is actually better than these numbers suggest.”
But the details of the report raised questions about whether middle-class households — which have experienced an economic “lost decade” — are now likely to see actual income gains or if they will simply tread water. One reason for concern is that income growth slowed in 2017, to 1.8 percent. Median income had grown more rapidly in previous years, by 5.2 percent in 2015 and 3.2 percent in 2016.
