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The Working Poor Families Project October 2008 study highlighted similar problems from 2002 through 2006. Titled "Still Working Hard, Still Falling Short: New Findings on the Challenges Confronting America's Working Families," it reported:
-- jobs paying poverty-level wages rose by 4.7 million;
-- low-income working families (earning less than double the Census definition of poverty) increased by 350,000;
-- below poverty-level jobs rose to 29.4 million and comprise 22% of all jobs compared to 19% in 2002;
-- most disturbing is that this happened during a period of economic growth, but at the same time wages haven't kept pace with the cost of living;
-- low income family numbers rose to nearly 9.6 million or 28% of the population;
-- children in them number 21 million;
-- 72% of low-income families with working adults in them performed the equivalent of one and one-quarter jobs - a far greater burden than in other OECD countries; and
-- income inequality is highest in New York; California is fourth, but all states are in a race to the bottom as conditions deteriorate everywhere, so all rankings are disturbing compared to the late 1990s.
The US Labor Department's latest productivity report highlights the plight of workers even more. It rose 6.4% in Q 2, the largest gain since 2003, while workers' compensation fell sharply, 2.2% on an annualized basis. According to Mark Vitner of Wells Fargo Bank, the productivity increase "is almost entirely the result of cost-cutting, not improved ways of producing goods and providing services." It also shows how powerless workers are at a time of massive job cuts, so staying employed takes precedence over wages paid and benefits. The result is profits up, pay down, benefits disappearing, and American workers transitioning to serfs.
More confirmation comes from the latest Internal Revenue Service statistics for 2007 showing that the income disparity between the top 10% and bottom 90% reached "a higher level than any other year since 1917 and even surpasses 1928, the peak of the stock market bubble in the 'roaring' 1920s," according to data from University of California economist Emmanuel Saez. He noted that "2007 was an incredibly good year for the super rich" and added:
"Based on the US historical record, falls in income concentration due to recessions are temporary unless drastic policy changes such as financial regulation or significantly more progressive taxation are implemented and prevent income concentration from coming back."
But these are no ordinary times as the US sinks slowly into depression. The super-rich are exploiting it to their advantage, while millions of working Americans are losing jobs, homes, benefits, savings, futures, and safety net protections. The 2007 data reflected the peak of the current cycle. What's ahead will be far more grim, disturbing, and reflective of an America that is no more.
The Economic Policy Institute's (EPI) State of Working America - 2008/2009
As the economy contracted in 2008, job losses and unemployment accelerated, but EPI's report missed the worst of it from early 2009 to the present. It cited:
-- wages losing ground to inflation;
