Nearly Half the Country Thinks We Are In a Recession

I love the way that right-wingers keep portraying this as a booming economy and minimizing the impact of the still-growing mortgage foreclosure crisis. What we have here is a new Gilded Age. The wealthy are getting wealthier (much wealthier) and the rest of us are struggling with slow-growing wages and fast-growing expenses.

Otherwise, we wouldn't get news like this:

"Nearly half of Americans feel the U.S. economy is in a recession, marked by a significant decline in economic activity, according to a survey released Thursday.

"The poll by the CNN-Opinion Research Corporation found that while 46 percent of Americans hold that belief, 51 percent don't."

Blogger-economist Hale "Bonddad" Stewart has a terrific essay at Huffington Post that details the middle class squeeze and explains why working families can't afford health insurance (and therefore need SCHIP). In condensed form:

1.) Job creation is weak.
2.) The economy has lost a ton of jobs that had high pay and health insurance benefits.
3.) As a result, median family income has been stagnant.
4.) At the same time, health insurance premiums have increased far faster than inflation or pay
5.) As a result, the number of people without health insurance has increased.

So it should come as now surprise that so many Americans think we are in a recession.