"Obama's economy"

For those of you who think this economy is doing so well, not because of anything Trump did but because of actions enacted by president Obama, I'd really like to know what those actions consisted of. Was it when he forced companies with over 50 employees to pay for their healthcare? Was it because he bailed out some big banks and GM who didn't really deserve it? Was it the thousands of new regulations? Or was it that stimulus package and all the "shovel ready jobs" that Obama later had to admit were not very shovel ready? There must be something that continued to stimulate this economy and give businesses confidence to finally invest all the money they were sitting on for 8 years. Anybody?

I guess I would like to know who thinks our economy is doing so well - now or in the past? I work two jobs, #1 for 22 years and #2 for 11 years, and no one, not a single person at either job has had a raise, including the bosses (both are small business, one blue collar and one white) in the past 10 years. Our schools are struggling to pay teachers, good teachers enough to stay (or get hired in the first place) small communities and I'm talking about 3rd class towns with less than 4,000 people can barely afford the basics. The only people I see around me doing really well are the politicians and folks that were born with money. Most of the rest of us out here are struggling. My kids are early 30s both with good college educations, neither with a job in the field that they studied because they both graduated around 2008 when the economy really flopped and the jobs all dried up. All of the stories about all of the jobs available - dig deeper into what jobs are available. Those jobs are available because there is no one qualified to work in them.
from a simple google search:
Here are the nine most in-demand jobs of 2017:
•Truck driver. Salary: $40,260. ...
•General business manager and operations manager. Salary: $97,730. ...
•Data scientist. Salary: $ 111,267. ...
•Registered Nurse. Salary: $67,490. ...
•Information security analyst. Salary: $90,282. ...
•Software Engineer. Salary: $98,270. ...
•Financial Advisor. ...
•Physical therapist.
Link to the whole article: www.cnbc.com/2017/03/27/the-9-most-in-demand-jobs-of-2017.html

I try not to be a negative Nancy, but the reality is I have a college degree, all of my friends have college degrees... my kids have them too (and are still paying for them by the way since college is not like $10k per year just for tuition) and 1 of my friends actually still has a job in his field and that's the software engineer. I find it incredibly uncomfortable to blame any one president or situation for where we are now. the Financial crisis of 2008 is only part of the picture, and it did not happen over night. That was caused by numerous factors from multiple sources, including other past presidents. and I know I continually nail the legislators on here, but they are the people who make the laws. The president, who ever is in office certainly has sway, some things he has the authority to do, and for some presidents congress is helpful and gets on board with the agenda.... that is not always the case and congress is where the laws come from. I just don't feel like we can blame one person for all problems. and I believe that if we are ever to correct the problems that this world and our country currently have, we have to be willing to look beyond the easy target, look at the whole problem, be non-partisan, be pro-American and be willing to compromise and discuss, not yell and point the finger.

You really don't see what's happening with the economy? I understand it's not an instant boost to your wallet, that only happens when you upgrade a job or win the lottery. It takes time for wages to rise and the first step is to make sure the economy is growing, which it is and much faster than it did during Obama's term. When the economy heats up enough wages naturally rise because the supply of workers in outnumbered by job openings. But if you disagree that the economy is growing and optimism is growing then I guess the conversation ends there, I can't force you to look at all numbers that matter.

Bottom line is it takes time, just like when you plant a seed, you won't be able to harvest until you give it enough nutrients, water, and time.

My question still stands unanswered... what did Obama do that got the economy to where it is and where it's going today?

I guess I will have to reserve judgment on this as well, but "it takes time" is fine if it is actually progressing that way - for folks that can't afford to pay their rent because they don't make enough money, can't buy a house because there is no way to save up for the downpayment when ever dollar you make goes toward your rent, can't afford to replace the car that is on it's last leg because you're barely buying groceries and when the car quits how will they get to work? I'm old now, these things don't really effect me, but I see my kids and other folks around me struggling and if it IS actually getting better - great. I really hope that is the case, but no, I do not see it at this point. I'm sure there are numbers out there. Any scientist can produce numbers that make any subject look favorable to their light (and don't pounce on that I am not pointing any specific fingers here, simply saying numbers can be scewed and frequently are - not saying that is the case with the numbers you've been looking at) but the numbers that really matter to me of course are the ones the folks around me are struggling with and they all work very hard, some at more than one job and everything gets more expensive....except their work. What is the average wage in Denver and what is the average price of a home? you couldn't pay me to live in Denver, but that is my point. If you live up here and drive to work, because jobs in Denver pay better, you're paying $3.00 a gallon for gas, plus the wear and tear on your vehicle and the time away from your family and your house cost a little less but aside from the obvious peace and quiet of living in the grinder what did you really gain? I usually try very hard to find the silver lining in every situation - and as soon as I see folks starting to feel better about their pay, job security, and general quality of life, I will certainly shout it - but I don't see it right now.

I do see that, and I know several that live pretty frugally and work and still can't make it, but make too much to qualify for any assistance. Yes there are jobs out there, and some with general qualifications but if they pay less than $10 an hour and you have kids that need daycare, all you are doing is paying for daycare and missing out on your kids. I know several nurses who drive more than 30 miles to the next town to work ...teachers with a side job, construction workers that do yard work in the evening and on weekends. None of these people are in educated or lazy, but when you work that hard and still can barely afford groceries, there is something wrong with the system.

I know a couple that are becoming more the norm, been hearing it a lot lately, he's a lineman, she is a nurse, they do ok...then their daughter who is married and has 2 kids got laid off. Her husband was laid off years ago and works through temp agencies and does odd jobs...long story short, they went through their savings while looking for jobs, ended up losing their house, now they live with mom and dad...these are folks I know well, this was a last resort...,not lazy kids. And I've had other folks tell me similar stories. If its getting better, its not obvious to me

www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018...m_term=.aed00d8cba00

Interesting article I ran across this morning

ScienceChic wrote: Why is it that we have a booming economy, record low unemployment, more jobs than ever before, more people employed, and yet people still on food assistance? It's not simply lazy people gaming the system, many who are on public assistance have one or more jobs - they aren't making enough to get by. What the 1% don't tell you is that once you reach a certain threshold, making gobs more money takes zero effort while those in the middle and poor classes continue to work their asses off struggling to get by - that's inequality in opportunity and that's the problem that's getting worse and needs to be addressed.

Have you ever been on government assistance for any significant period of time SC? I was getting SS disability during my 2 years of cancer treatment and about 18 months after. I could have stayed on disability for the rest of my life because of my severe neuropathy in my feet... it's chronic pain I will never recover from unless they remove my feet. It would have been very easy for me to ride that out for the rest of my life and do side jobs under the table... it was very tempting. But I was still able to work and I didn't want to be a taxpayer leach, I also wasn't going to be satisfied just surviving and not advancing my family's financial situation.

The government makes it way to easy to stay dependent and that's how the Democrats like it, and you have to know that. If the country becomes less dependent on the promises of politicians, Democrats will never win another election because they have no real economic solutions that work, all they have is various forms of wealth redistribution.

I'm not saying that everybody on disability or government assistance is some deadbeat, I know millions have no options... but millions of people DO have options if they just have the incentives to break the government chains. The only way we will ever see the shift from dependency is if we have a growing economy and we don't import millions more dependent people who drive down wages.

Lastly, I'd like to know what YOUR ideal solution is and how exactly it would work to bring up wages and pull people out of government dependency. What politician has expressed that answer that you agree with?

parkcobound wrote: www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018...m_term=.aed00d8cba00

Interesting article I ran across this morning

Interesting, but how do you feel about it?