Warren: Trickle-Down Was Nothing More Than the Politics of Helping the Rich and Powerful Get Richer [View all]

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/28173-focus-trickle-down-was-nothing-more-than-the-politics-of-helping-the-rich-and-powerful-get-richer-and-more-powerful

I recently read an article in Politico called "Everything is Awesome." The article detailed the good news about the economy: 5% GDP growth in the third quarter of 2014, unemployment under 6%, a new all-time high for the Dow, low inflation.(i)

Despite the headline, the author recognized that not everything is awesome, but his point has been repeated several times: On many different statistical measures, the economy has improved and is continuing to improve. I think the President and his team deserve credit for the steps they've taken to get us here. In particular, job growth is a big deal, and we celebrate it.

I've spent most of my career studying what's happening to America's middle class, and I know that these four widely-cited statistics give an important snapshot of the success of the overall economy. But the overall picture doesn't tell us much about what's happening at ground level to tens of millions of Americans. Despite these cheery numbers, America's middle class is in deep trouble.

Think about it this way: The stock market is soaring, and that's great if you have a pension or money in a mutual fund. But if you and your husband or wife are both working full time, with kids in school, and you are among the half or so of all Americans who don't have any money in stocks,(ii) how does a booming stock market help you?

Corporate profits(iii) and GDP are up. But if you work at Walmart, and you are paid so little that you still need food stamps to put groceries on the table, what does more money in stockholders