If the majority of Bush's tax cuts are made permanent the Right will feel all is well. Jobs and the unemployed are less than secondary. Lots of work to do before the '06 midterms but the Republican Congress will pull it all off.
Posted by steve duncan at May 5, 2006 07:56 AM... wages up 3.8%? ... as if. In January I was among those few who even got the top raise as a legal assistant in a large downtown L.A. firm: 1%. The firm is growing so big so fast, and holding down benefits and wages so close to the bone, that these days we call it LawMart. (:>
Posted by Donald Cormac at May 5, 2006 08:01 AMSounds like a recipe for fucking the middle class with a javelin.
Again.
Posted by God Of War at May 5, 2006 08:29 AMStunning news! Wages up 3.8%. Eureka, the problem is solved. Why, that means I now make 3.8% more every month. Do I get the check from TLC?
The wage increase is $0.09 per hour, per worker, including salaried. There was no real gain for the average Joe. This is the effect of corporate high-end salaried getting millions of dollars in increased salary and compensation. Smoke and mirrors, and the magic of averaging numbers.
Posted by phidipides at May 5, 2006 08:39 AMAtrios had a great comment about those wingnuts that crow about the economy's strength because the DOW was only 200 points below the record high set 6 years ago.
Well lucky for me that wage increase number certainly came just in the knick of time since our company just notified us that our contribution to our health insurance plan was only rising by 11% this year. ...(28% increase for some other plans). Yes, and that didn't include the fact that the deductibles and office visit co-pays were also rising.
But truthfully and minus the snark, I am grateful we have health insurance as I understand that many people aren't as lucky.
Posted by emal at May 5, 2006 08:57 AMThe FOX blondes are chirping away about the Bush economic miracle and how the Dow's numbers are proof, proof, that tax cuts for the rich are the medicine for what ails the economy.
What a riot!
Posted by Christopher at May 5, 2006 09:52 AMThe simplest thing to remember about the Bushies is that they lie about everything. Everything.
I don't believe the unemployment numbers or the GDP numbers either. It will take years to unravel this level of duplicity.
Breaking News: Bush to make 'personnel related announcement' at 1:45pm.
Me thinks Secretary of the Treasury Snow will be spending more time with his family.
I can't bring myself to believe Rummy is being dumped much as I think it is inevitable.
Who knows? Maybe it will be a massive Friday afternoon dump!
"I am grateful we have health insurance as I understand that many people aren't as lucky."
I'm grateful too but my appreciation is impaled with mounting resentment and contempt. Salary increases in public/ gov. funded jobs can not match rising health care costs either.
GOW has it right. Those who have insurance are terrified of losing it. Many know that it's the one thing that they have that separates them from the poor. Without it confidence and security in one's way of life disappears with the knowledge that a single health crisis can reduce the family to ruin and erase everything that gives them their identity. I wonder how many people are held prisoner in their current jobs or feel forced to choose a job simply because of health care benefits. Then, the yearly increases to keep those dwindling benefits may amount to more than a person earning minimum wage will make in a week. Those increases come without negotiation or explanation but the employee is still expected to be grateful? I don't think so.
Health insurance is another one of those variables that creates an insurmountable divide between the middle class and the poor. We don't even have to discuss this in terms of catastrophic illness to illustrate the problem. We can simply look at the costs of maintaining a healthful appearance necessary for acceptance among the middle class. If you have health/dental insurance and teenagers chances are that you've still spent thousands out of pocket at the orthodontists and dermatologists. Sure, you do it because you love them but you also do it because you know your child's potential for achievement will be greatly hindered or squashed if they attempt to enter the job market with crooked teeth and a pock marked face.
Posted by OTF at May 6, 2006 04:34 AMIf you think we live in a classless society, try living without health insurance.
Posted by Monica at May 6, 2006 06:39 PM