Even the Rich are Feeling Pessimistic

A mother in a very well-off family explains why even they have pulled greatly back on spending.

For some reason, people say they feel confident. But consumer spending is between flat and down. Which would seem that the old line of "money talks, bullshit walks" is still in force.

Workers in general have not recovered from the Great Recession. For the last 35 to 40 years, the economy has been engaged in a massive redistribution of wealth from those in the bottom 80% to those at the top.

Part of this is due to the treason of the capitalists, who have put their own pocketbooks ahead of the good of the country. The "creative destruction", so loved by financial pirates like ol' Roof Rack and Carl Icahn, threw millions of people out of good-paying jobs and gutted financially profitable companies, all so those greedy bastards could get even more riches. The treason was in two parts: Destroying the economic viability of the workers and middle classes and selling our industrial base to the Chinese.

And yes, I believe that's been the long-range plan of the Chinese government for the last 30-35 years: To strip the industrial bases of the West (not just us) and to transfer huge amounts of wealth to China. Here's a stat for you: In 1975, American steel mills produced 150 million tons of steel. In 2013, the U.S. produced was 87 million tons of steel. China produced 779 million tons in 2013, 494.9 million tons in 2007 and 20.5 million tons in 1976. Right now, China produces just a skosh under half of the steel made in the world.

Without doing a jot of research, I'll bet that if you looked at the list of Fortune 500 companies from the Bicentennial and compared it to the current list, you'll find not a few companies which were looted by the vulture capitalists.

As an aside, calling Romney and his ilk "vulture capitalists" is an insult to vultures. Vultures generally wait for their food to die. No, they're more like "hyena capitalists".

So here we are on Labor Day in the middle of the second decade of the 21st Century. Our largest employer is a company whose business model is based on exploitation of its workers and those in its suppliers. (They're joined in that by #2 and #3.) Labor force participation rates began falling as the Great Recession took hold and have continued to fall.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that the unemployment rate has fallen:

But if you can't find a job and have been out so long that you have no hope of ever finding one, they don't count you.

If you count those who have been out a long time and those who have part-time jobs, but want to work full-time, then the marginal/unemployment rate is still 50% higher than it was before the start of the recession:

And nearly three million more people are collecting disability from Social Security since the recession began. The number of veterans claiming VA pensions has gone up 50%. Not all are mooching. Many find themselves with no prospect of employment anytime soon, so they grab for what they can. People who have houses are far less mobile than those who rent their dwellings, for the banks, despite their public protestations, make it almost impossible to do a "short sale". And a few states have figured out that the key to lowering the Medicare rolls is to hire the figurative descendents of Franz Kafka to run their programs.

So, Gentle Reader, please enjoy your burgers and brats on this Labor Day. When you look to the future, you may want to wear a welder's helmet.

Because you probably won't like what you'd otherwise see.

(H/T)