As James Carville famously said, “It’s the economy, stupid.” And if people don’t start to feel things getting better, it makes it that much harder to get a win this year. Fortunately, polling shows that a substantial number of voters, even those who are unhappy with Obama, still blame most of the problem on Republican obstructionism—because with numbers like this, he’ll need every vote he can get:
The average American family lost 38.8 percent of its wealth from 2007 to 2010, with the biggest losses concentrated among households with the most assets tied to their homes, a Federal Reserve study shows.
Median net worth declined to $77,300 in 2010, an 18-year low, from $126,400 in 2007, the central bank said in its Survey of Consumer Finances. Mean net worth fell 14.7 percent to a nine-year low of $498,800 from $584,600, the central bank said today in Washington.“The impact has been a massive destruction of wealth all across the board,” said Lance Roberts, who oversees $500 million as chief executive officer of Streettalk Advisors LLC in Houston. “What you see is an economy that’s really very, very stressed for the bottom 60 to 70 percent of the population that’s struggling just to make ends meet.”
The declines in household wealth in the course of the longest and deepest recession since the Great Depression have held back the consumer spending that makes up about 70 percent of the economy. Fed policy makers led by Chairman Ben S. Bernanke meet next week to consider whether the central bank needs to add to its record stimulus after employment grew at the slowest pace in a year in May.
The Fed has already taken unprecedented steps to boost the economy as it battled the 18-month recession that ended in June 2009, slashing its key interest rate almost to zero and purchasing $2.3 trillion in debt to lower long-term borrowing costs. Even so, the jobless rate has stayed above 8 percent since February 2009, compared with the central bank’s long-range goal of 4.9 percent to 6 percent.
“Although declines in the values of financial assets or business were important factors for some families, the decreases in median net worth appear to have been driven most strongly by a broad collapse in house prices,” Fed economists wrote in the report released today.
Where’s the choice? We get to choose from Bush III and possibly IV or a known swindler? That’s no choice – if either person wins WE LOSE. Voting for someone like Dr. Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate is the only real possibility of changing anything for the better, but she’s going to go the Ralph Nader route – won’t get on the ballot in a number of states, will be cut out of any “debates”, and be overwhelmingly compromised by deep-pocketed corporate campaign donations, tv and radio ads and her message will be lost in the din.
Good luck with the election – we’re collapsing as a civilization, so no matter who is at the helm, our ship of state is sinking.
Tom:
Voting for a third party won’t make anything better.
First of all, we have a winner take all system. So your “protest” won’t matter, and will only help Romney.
Second, let’s imagine that Stein somehow won. Unless the Greens somehow achieve a majority in Congress and the Senate, she’d still be dealing with the same assholes Obama has to.
So if you want to vote for Greens, you’d be better off doing it at the local and state level, to help that party achieve the critical mass necessary to win nationally.
Obama has been disappointing in a number of ways, and not-so-disappointing in others. He’s still better than any of the dickholes in the republican party, and I plan to vote for him.
Disappointing? That’s it? How about war criminal? Murderer?
“Obama has been disappointing in a number of ways, and not-so-disappointing in others. He’s still better than any of the dickholes in the republican party, and I plan to vote for him.” Absolutely.
I think it is very important to look down ticket and pay attention to the local elections. It is where the action is. Experiencing full frontal right wing thought and behavior most everyday can really scare the hell out of someone.
Just watch and see how the right wing noise machine spins this story. Relevant facts and statistics are meaningless to the right. Que up the revisionist history, too.
The past month has been SO depressing, I have taken a break from discourse with those right wing fools I know.
Boohunney you are so right. This election is about getting rid of every Republican in office. Actually this past month has been pretty good for the Left. The country is now talking about illegal kill lists. Illegal drone programs. New kinds of warfare like cyber attacks. All of these things must be talked about openly and a decision about their efficacy decided upon by “we the people.” But best of all Obama has kept the neo-cons (Zionists) at bay and we are not fighting new wars with Iran or Syria. Re-electing Obama does matter.
mjames: how is that different from every other president we’ve had?
You might want to retether yourself to reality. Imhotep has it right: “This election is about getting rid of every Republican in office.”
I don’t elect a president to be jesus christ of Nazareth. I don’t expect my presidents to be pure as the driven snow.
By your logic, we should consign LBJ to the dustbin, for war crimes and murder in Viet Nam. It is, however, undeniable, that LBJ passed civil rights, medicare, and other Great Society programs that have done our nation well for decades.
I don’t say this to excuse Obama’s crimes, but goddam, get a grip. if you want purity, go buy a bar of Ivory soap.
To those of you voting for O, I can see where you’re coming from. The choices are awful and you think he’s less awful.
But how about remembering that you have no proof? We’re no more “untethered” than Obama voters. When I say “no proof,” what I mean is that we’ve had three and a half years of Bush III, with no pushback. Half the country has said nothing, while the other half has demanded worse.
There is a case to be made that having an actual Republican who does get pushback will result in less harm than what we’ve seen the last few years. At least when Republicans are war criminals, there are people who remember that’s wrong.
So, in my view, if you’re going to ignore evidence, it’s not the people who won’t vote for Obama who are doing it.
Your view on this is not the only view. You want to vote for him because you think he’s the lesser evil, and you may be right. I won’t vote for him because I think he’s the more effective evil. And I may be right. Neither of us knows the future.
How about respecting that?
“There is a case to be made that having an actual Republican who does get pushback will result in less harm than what we’ve seen the last few years. At least when Republicans are war criminals, there are people who remember that’s wrong.”………………..said quixote.
….And so have you lost your fucking mind, Mr or Ms quixote? You’re goddammed right there are people who remember “that’s wrong”.
Just a reminder: Bush and Cheney are roaming the fucking country scott-free. Exactly what is your point that “actual Republicans” who lied us into Iraq killing more than 5,000 American soldiers and maiming 30-40 thousand more, while an untold death toll of Iraquis may never be known—–and THAT results in less harm than we’ve had in the last few years???? What delusional drugs are you popping, my friend?