Economic Resiliency

You listen to the news, read the newspaper or a financial magazine like Forbes and you hear all about economic resiliency. The stock market reaches a new high, employment is up, everything is just peachy keen on the economic front. Really?

It is true on a per capita basis retail spending (ignoring gas sales) in July was up 3.9% from last year and up 7% from July 2009 when the recession was at it lowest. Wow. [See the recent Demand Side Economics blog.

This all sounds good but really it is bull. It is the top 10% of the country that is experiencing this growth, not the rest of us. The growth in spending is among that top group buying more stocks, jewelry, and luxury cars. Meanwhile Wal-Mart workers are still dependent upon food stamps, which the government is threatening to take away.

This is just more smoke and mirrors of the Fed policy. For real economic growth in this country we need the growth of the economy to go to the middle and lower classes, which in turn would increase real and more profound growth.

Tax laws just have to change to get equitability back into the economic system and create economic justice for the majority of our citizens. But this will not happen while the rich control the government and continue to subsidize the wealthy while decreasing help for those in need.