Dear Bill,
I’ve been a
faithful viewer of your show for the last few years and I usually agree with
what you have to say. However, during last night’s show you mentioned (yet
again) how well the economy is doing and, as evidence, pointed to the following
facts: the unemployment rate is down, the stock market is up, GDP is up, and
the deficit is down. These facts may be true but these facts don’t tell the
whole story.
Yes, the
unemployment rate is down but that’s because a large number of people have stopped
looking for work and have dropped
out of the labor market. These people are
not counted by unemployment statistics.
Furthermore, what
kinds of jobs are being created? They are mostly low-wage jobs, part-time jobs
and/or temporary/contract/freelance jobs without benefits. They are mostly in
the service sector (i.e., low-wage jobs), as this article in The New York
Times points out (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/07/business/economy/jobs-report-unemployment-february.html?_r=0).
The same article also points out that wages only went up 0.1% last month,
continuing a pattern in which real wages haven’t budged for decades.1
The GDP has also
been discredited as a measure of economic well-being in a number of articles,
including this one (http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/30/alternatives-to-the-gdp/).
As I write this,
New York City’s subway system is scheduled to raise their fare yet again
(despite the fact that service has deteriorated to an all-time low2),
dealing yet another blow to the middle
class. But how would you know that? You live in Los Angeles and probably
haven’t used public transportation in decades.
I can’t tell you
how frustrating it is to see you constantly defending Obama’s economic policies
and to see Republicans arguing (however
disingenuously) on behalf of the middle class.
I’d be happy to
go on your program any time to give the point of view of real people dealing with real struggles, rather than these professional pundits
who “live inside the bubble” (as you’re so fond of saying).
Sincerely,
Paul Hallasy
No comments:
Post a Comment