October 13th, 2015
Wall Street Journal: The Golden Goose Is on the Run
With the unemployment rate at 5.1% and second-quarter GDP growth at an annual rate of 3.9%, some economists can claim that the economy is chugging along fine. But from where I sit on Main Street, that’s not the way it is.
There is something that the numbers are missing. Economics—and logic—tells us that if unemployment was truly that low and GDP that high, wages would be rising. Instead, wages grew at 0.2% during the second quarter, the slowest rate in 33 years. The median family income in America is approximately $53,000, below where it was before the 2008 economic meltdown.
There is a disconnect today between what government experts say about the economy when they crunch the numbers and what employers throughout America say when they make hiring and wage decisions. Businesses, small and large, are holding back. Six years after the Great Recession officially ended, many worry about another downturn and fear new governmental intrusions.
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