The latest nationwide jobs and
housing statistics released this week suggest that America is no longer a
country where—for most people—the future is going to be better than the
past.
The percentage of people in most age and education levels in jobs
compared to 2008 is down. The number of people holding multiple jobs is
up. Average hourly wages have barely grown, compared to 2008. The number
of people who are willing to leave their job for a new one is down. All
of those trends are in the latest report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)—and there are even more depressing economic signs.
More than one-third of Americans who bought homes are trapped
by that debt, according to the real estate data website Zillow.com.
Some 9.7 million homes, which is 18.8 percent of U.S. homeowners, owe
more than their homes are worth. In another 10 million homes, the
buyer’s equity is below 20 percent, which means they can’t sell and buy
another home unless they find another way to cover all the transaction
costs.
Taken together, the BLS report on the working class and the Zillow
report on the middle class suggest that the country, despite virtually
every politican’s assertion to the contrary, does not have its best days
ahead. It may be that America’s best days—when the promise of hard work
and playing by the rules led to economic security—is a thing of the
past.
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