..and no one, not even apparently the blog-o-sphere, has reported on it.
From Tax.com and award winning author David Cay Johnston:
Every 34th wage earner in America in 2008 went all of 2009 without earning a single dollar, new data from the Social Security Administration show. Total wages, median wages, and average wages all declined, but at the very top, salaries grew more than fivefold.
I have intuitively known that the average working person is losing ground economically. With the disastrous policies started by Reagan's welfare for rich people, to the devastation of "free trade" agreements of Bushes and Clinton, Americans are working longer and making less. Now with this new data, it is there in black and white. It is an undeniable fact and the media doesn't even say a word.
With all the grandstanding of the teabaggers claiming that socialism and Obama are ruining America, the reality is it's Republican/Neo-liberal and libertarian policies that are strangling the golden goose middle class. We are working harder and making less, not because of taxes, but because wealthy interests control our government and virtually ever institution in our society.
Now in spite of the fact that the economy has shown some net growth in the past few years, working folks are making less. The economy is now a zero sum game and ALL the created wealth is going to the prosperous few.
Please see this link for visual proof (pdf file)
I have no time for these nonsensical Teabaggers demanding lower taxes etc. They are completely out of touch. Taxes are too low, especially for rich people. We need to provide 3rd world countries with expertise and knowledge to support their economies. This does not mean we send them all our jobs. We need to punish businesses that export our manufacturing base and charge them appropriately for our natural resources. We need to empower the American worker so she can negotiate fair wages and not have to compete with third world indentured servants that are unfortunate enough to live in authoritarian countries.
If this has already been diaried here at Kos my apologies. I think this news is critical for everyone to read and PLEASE, take a minute to read the linked article at Tax.com. It is very illuminating yet brief. Also in the comments section, the author completely torches his libertarian and conservative critics.