Author Topic: Misery Index: The Obama Depression - "Private sector doing just Fine"  (Read 151927 times)

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Re: Misery Index: The Obama Depression - "Private sector doing just Fine"
« Reply #1526 on: October 17, 2014, 09:38:00 AM »

Census Bureau: California still has highest U.S. poverty rate



By Dan Walters -
dwalters@sacbee.com
 
 10/16/2014 11:25 AM
  | Updated: 10/16/2014 11:25 AM
 





 
   

 

In this still frame from video provided by the Kasakari For Governor campaign, Neel Kashkari, the Republican candidate for California governor, speaks to the camera during a week he posed as a homeless and unemployed person on the streets of Fresno.       
   

In this still frame from video provided by the Kasakari For Governor campaign, Neel Kashkari, the Republican candidate for California governor, speaks to the camera during a week he posed as a homeless and unemployed person on the streets of Fresno.AP
   

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California continues to have – by far – the nation’s highest level of poverty under an alternative method devised by the Census Bureau that takes into account both broader measures of income and the cost of living.

Nearly a quarter of the state’s 38 million residents (8.9 million) live in poverty, a new Census Bureau report says, a level virtually unchanged since the agency first began reporting on the method’s effects.

Under the traditional method of gauging poverty, adopted a half-century ago, California’s rate is 16 percent (6.1 million residents), somewhat above the national rate of 14.9 percent but by no means the highest. That dubious honor goes to New Mexico at 21.5 percent.

But under the alternative method, California rises to the top at 23.4 percent while New Mexico drops to 16 percent and other states decline to as low as 8.7 percent in Iowa.

























The only other state to approach California in the alternate rankings is Nevada at 20 percent, although Washington, D.C., is close at 22.4 percent.

Ever since the Census Bureau first published its “supplemental poverty measure” rankings that placed California at the top a few years ago, poverty has evolved into a political issue.

It’s now routinely cited in official reports and legislative documents, and Neel Kashkari, the Republican candidate for governor, has tried to make it an issue in his uphill challenge to Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, even spending several days in Fresno posing as a homeless person to dramatize it.

The Public Policy Institute of California used a similar methodology last year to gauge poverty in the state’s 58 counties, called a California Poverty Measure.

It pegged the statewide poverty rate at 22 percent and found some of the highest rates in the San Francisco Bay Area and coastal communities usually considered affluent due to their high costs of housing. Los Angeles had the highest rate in the state, 26.9 percent, followed by Napa at 25.5 percent.







Call The Bee’s Dan Walters, (916) 321-1195. Back columns,

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article2916749.html#storylink=cpy

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Re: Misery Index: The Obama Depression - "Private sector doing just Fine"
« Reply #1530 on: October 28, 2014, 10:55:20 AM »
US Homeownership Rate Drops To 1983 Levels: Here's Why
Zero Hedge ^  | 10/28/2014 | Tyler Durden

Posted on ‎10‎/‎28‎/‎2014‎ ‎12‎:‎32‎:‎40‎ ‎PM by SeekAndFind



The last time US homeownership declined down to 64.4% (which the Census Bureau just reported is what US homeownership declined to from 64.7% in Q2), was back in the fourth quarter of 1983.



It goes without saying that this is about the bearishest news possible for those few who still believe in the American homewonership dream.

Of course, those who have been following real-time rental market trends would be all too aware there is no rebound coming to the homeownership rate. The reason is simple: increasingly fewer can afford to buy, instead having no choice but to rent, which in turn has pushed the median asking rent to record highs. In fact in the past two quarters, the asking rent was just $10 shy of its time highs at $756 per month.



 

But capital allocation preferences aside, while explaining the disparity between rental and homeownership in a world where Renting is the new American Dream, what the charts above don't explain is why there is no incremental demand from all those millions of young Americans who enter the population and, eventually, the workforce. At least on paper.

Earlier today, Bank of America in its Chart of the Day earlier was confused by precisely this:








Population growth of 25-34 year olds outpacing growth in the housing stock: The primary driver of household formation is population growth among 25 to 34 year olds. There is notable divergence with the growth in this age group and the growth in the housing stock. This suggests greater doubling up of households as a result of the recession and weak recovery. Unless doubling up turns into tripling up, household formation should recover over time, creating a need for greater building. Given tight credit conditions, this will tend to drive apartment construction more than single family construction. Either way, the housing stock is lagging well behind demographic fundamentals.

 



Yes, in theory, in a normal world, demand should increase over time. But the world is anything but normal.

Enter: the Millennials.

For the benefit of a very confused Bank of America, and everyone else who missed out weeked chart porn on the financial state of the Millennial, here are some of the key charts which explain why owning a home in the US has become a mirage for an entire generation of Americans. Incidentally, the largest generation in US history.

This is what is happening:









 

And this is why:









 

Bottom line: they may be homeless, but Millennials sure love their smartphones...



Much more here.

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Re: Misery Index: The Obama Depression - "Private sector doing just Fine"
« Reply #1537 on: December 04, 2014, 01:55:54 PM »
Sears to accelerate closings, shutter 235 stores
CNBC ^  | December 4,2014 | Krystina Gustafson

Posted on ‎12‎/‎4‎/‎2014‎ ‎3‎:‎42‎:‎34‎ ‎PM by Hojczyk

Sears shares fell Thursday, after the struggling department store announced an adjusted net loss of $296 million—in line with the updated guidance it gave in November.

The retailer also said it's accelerating the number of stores it plans to close this year, boosting its list from the 130 underperforming stores it announced in its second-quarter earnings release, to a total of 235 stores.

Analysts called the move a step in the right direction for the company, which has been tapping into its real estate in creative ways to compensate for downward-spiraling sales. Still, they said the haircut won't be enough on its own to turn the tide at Sears, adding that it needs to close even more stores—and figure out how to become profitable.

According to Retail Metrics, Sears hasn't posted a quarterly profit since fourth quarter 2012.


(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...

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Re: Misery Index: The Obama Depression - "Private sector doing just Fine"
« Reply #1539 on: December 11, 2014, 10:45:16 AM »
42.9 million Americans have unpaid medical bills

December 11, 2014 12:17 AM
 By The Associated Press  By JOSH BOAK (AP Economics Writer)






FILE - In this Jan. 9, 2013 file photo, an injured passenger of a New Jersey ferry is loaded into an ambulance, in New York. Nearly 20 percent of U.S. consumers _42.9 million people _ have unpaid medical debts, according to a new report released Thursday, Dec. 11, 2014 by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The findings suggest that many Americans lack the financial resources to pay for health emergencies _ and that the notices from hospitals and insurance companies about the cost of treatment are confusing and baffling. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File) (10:52 AM)




Related media
 
WASHINGTON - (AP) -- Nearly 20 percent of U.S. consumers -- 42.9 million people -- have unpaid medical debts, according to a new report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The findings suggest that many Americans are being trapped by debt because they are confused by the notices they get from hospitals and insurance companies about the cost of treatment. As a result, millions of Americans may be surprised to find they are stuck with lower credit scores, making it harder for them to borrow to buy a home or an automobile.

"When people fall ill and end up at the hospital with unexpected bills, far too often they have entered into a financial maze," CFPB director Richard Cordray said in a speech to be delivered Thursday in Oklahoma City.

Read More:  Westchester Top Stories

On average, a person with only overdue medical debt owes $1,766. Someone with unpaid medical bills and other sources of debt -- possibly credit cards or back taxes -- owes an average of $5,638. More than half of all debt on credit reports stems from medical expenses.

The report by the federal regulator indicates that much of this trouble could be avoided. About half of consumers who only carry medical debt have no other signs of being under financial distress. But complaints to the CFPB indicate that consumers are routinely baffled by medical bills. Unwieldy insurance and hospital statements leave them uncertain as to how much money they owe, the deadline for payment, and which organization should be paid.

The confusion tends to generate disputes from consumers about the unpaid debts. This has prompted the CFPB to also announce Thursday that it will require major consumer reporting agencies to provide regular reports on how they investigate and respond to disputed charges.

The unpaid medical bills have negative repercussions for credit scores, which help determine how much money people can borrow and the interest rates for mortgages and auto loans.

An unpaid bill of at least $100 could lower an otherwise sterling credit score of 780 by over 100 points, the Fair Isaac Corp. told the CFPB based on a previous model it used to calculate creditworthiness.

The firm updated its credit score model in August, putting less weight on unpaid medical bills when predicting the likelihood of repayment. Consumers with only medical expenses in collection would see their credit score increase by a median of 25 points once the new model is fully implemented.

The updated model was announced after a separate CFPB report in May on the impact medical debt had on credit scores.

The latest CFPB analysis overlaps with a separate study released in July by the Urban Institute, a Washington, DC-based think tank.

The Urban Institute study found that the share of Americans with debt in collections has remained relatively constant, despite the country as a whole whittling down the size of its credit card and other debts since the Great Recession ended in the middle of 2009. That points to a sizeable share of Americans who are not only struggling to understand medical bills but also have no choice but to take on debts they have little chance of repaying.

The Urban Institute found that 35.1 percent of people with credit records had been reported to collections for debt that averaged $5,178, based on September 2013 records.

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Re: Misery Index: The Obama Depression - "Private sector doing just Fine"
« Reply #1540 on: December 13, 2014, 10:28:38 AM »

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Why Middle-Class Wealth Is Withering [Alinsky At Work: Destroy The Middle-Class and Destroy America]
CBSNews ^ | December 13, 2013 | AIMEE PICCHI
Posted on December 13, 2014 at 10:16:14 AM PST by Steelfish

By AIMEE PICCHI December 12, 2014 Why Middle-Class Wealth Is Withering

If the middle class is truly the backbone of America, the country's spine may be close to breaking.

Middle America came out of the Great Recession in a precarious position, sinking into "dissavings" -- when spending is greater than income -- thanks to a nasty combination of stagnant wages and a hit to real estate and investment values, according to a new working paper from New York University economics professor Edward N. Wolff.

That's led to a grim outcome, with virtually no change in the country's median wealth between 2010 to 2013, even as asset prices, such as the stock market and housing values, rebounded in the years following the recession, Wolff wrote. The cause? "The high dissavings rate of the middle class," he noted.

d already suffered from several years of relatively stagnant wage gains. From 2007 to 2010, median income slumped almost 7 percent, and median wealth plunged by 44 percent.

So, with the recession over and the economy getting back on track, wouldn't Americans have benefited across the board? Not quite, the study found. While home values and stock prices gained, the middle class failed to see much lift because they fell into a dissavings rate of 9.9 percent relative to median income, eating into their assets to make up for stagnant wages.

"It appears that the middle class was depleting its assets to maintain its previous level of consumption," Wolff wrote. "The evidence, moreover, suggests that middle class households, experiencing stagnating incomes, expanded their debt (at least until 2007) mainly in order to finance normal consumption expenditures rather than to increase their investment portfolio."

(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...

TOPICS: Business/Economy; Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS:

1 posted on December 13, 2014 at 10:16:14 AM PST by Steelfish
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]
To: Steelfish
>>So, with the recession over and the economy getting back on track, wouldn’t Americans have benefited across the board?

Its not over for the middle class. We live off a stagnant paycheck, pay inflationary prices in an economy where economists only check the price on the box and not the weight and quality of the contents (the “hamburger-is-steak” rule), and really don’t reap the rewards of a Wall St that is fueled by a steady influx of fiat currency.


2 posted on December 13, 2014 at 10:20:00 AM PST by Bryanw92 (Sic semper tyrannis)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]
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Re: Misery Index: The Obama Depression - "Private sector doing just Fine"
« Reply #1544 on: December 16, 2014, 08:12:33 PM »
+ 5,000,000 fertile illegal aliens to that Dem voting bloc.   

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Re: Misery Index: The Obama Depression - "Private sector doing just Fine"
« Reply #1545 on: December 16, 2014, 08:19:00 PM »
+ 5,000,000 fertile illegal aliens to that Dem voting bloc.   

Bi partisan treason

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Re: Misery Index: The Obama Depression - "Private sector doing just Fine"
« Reply #1546 on: December 16, 2014, 08:25:25 PM »
Bi partisan treason

Jon Stewart did a nice piece on the insane amount of PORK that was added to the bill to get it thru the senate.

I dont think getbiggers of EITHER party can ever again bitch about the other.  It was bi-partisan ransacking of 1/2 of the power the new Repub Congress will have. This was JohnBoehnner effectively neutering Ted Cruz & other conservatives, stapling them to insane spending for half the new congress' time. 

He shit all over repubs & dems alike on this - it took them BOTH to make this bill happen.  The pork was nuts.


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