Wages are finally growing again for the first time since the Internet Crash of 2000.
This may be the first time many adults, college students and young workers have witnessed a strong economy where hiring was the norm and respectable wages can be found if you have marketable skills or want to be trained.
To put it in perspective, let's turn back the clock 15 years:
In early 2003, the Baltimore Sun bleakly asked: "Have greed, corruption and fear so seriously damaged the great American market system that the nation faces serious long-term economic decline? The evidence supporting that dire possibility has accumulated relentlessly in recent months.
The markets -- whose long-term growth have funded millions of comfortable retirements, swelled the wealth of our social institutions and turned an army of union workers into eager capitalists -- have lost a breathtaking $7 trillion in wealth over the last three years.”
Fast-forard to current time. Just look how we've grown!
- Blue-collar jobs reportedly are growing at their fastest clip in more than 30 years, powering a hiring boom in many small towns and rural areas that are strong supporters of President Donald Trump ahead of November's midterm elections, a Washington Post analysis found.
- A measure of optimism among U.S. small-business owners rose to a record and exceeded projections as companies planned the most capital spending since 2007 and hiring intentions hit an all-time high, a National Federation of Independent Business survey showed Tuesday.
- U.S. job openings rose in July to a fresh record and the biggest share of workers since 2001 quit their positions, adding to signs of labor-market strength that may push wages higher, Labor Department data showed Tuesday.
- U.S. fincial markets are growing strongly for the first time in 18 years.
The Obama economy began with a crash, and after eight years and $10 trillion in new debt, the markets have surpassed the peaks in 1999 and 2007. Tthe "Obama debt" was accumulated with virtually no interest on prior debt. Most of the eight years of Obama's presidency was a "Dead Cat Bounce" economy trying to regain what was lost by spending trillions of dollars and doubling the debt.
The 18 years between the historic Clinton "Internet Crash” and the Trump election may be remembered by historians as Obama's "Lost Generation." After almost 20 years, America's competitive rank in the world marketplace is back at number one.
However, one admitted dark cloud is that unfunded liabilities in many states and nations still cause concern in the today’s markets.
While things may be getting better now, there were massive casualties along the way.
Instead of “GM is alive and Osama is dead,” the real slogan is “Hummer and Saturn are dead and mass opioid addiction is alive.”
Did you know that many of the greatest American brands went bankrupt during the Obama presidency? Even the great American icon General Motors (GM) filed for bankruptcy in 2009.
Here is a sampling of the failures during Obama’s leadership, including many iconic auto brands:
- Mercury
- Pontiac
- Saturn
- Lehman Brothers
- Bear Stearns
- Borders Books
- The Hummer
Even today, many retail brands are flirting with disaster. Sears, JCPenny, Sports Authority, Barnes and Noble Books are struggling to survive after Barack Obama’s eight years of oppressive taxes on every imaginable level and overall poor governmental leadership.
With Obama's punitive higher taxes and targeted regulations in the middle of a recession, many of America's greatest businesses suffocated and fell into bankruptcy. The failed companies shed millions of workers while Obama also overtaxed many of those who barely kept their jobs (and who were doing the work of two or three people).
As an aside, bankruptcy is something that happens when businesses fail. However, many of the greatest U.S. success stories are people who have been broke at least once and manage to make a comeback. Sadly, many iconic brands of Obama’s "Lost Generation” may never come back.
It is heartbreaking, but when you eliminate a local company’s ability to compete globally with businesses in Mexico, India, China, you simply make room for global competitors to come into your country and dump cheap products (made by low-cost labor that may result in poor quality).
Obama spent heavily on pet projects for companies run by cronies and donors that wasted billions of dollars. Obama even spent more than $1 billion to finance auto manufacturing offshore in places like Finland. A foreign executive receiving U.S. funding implied that the regulations were too toxic to build cars in America.
Obama also lost billions on failed solar companies. To put the Obama spending in perspective, 100 thousand American citizens dreaming of an education could had free college tuition with just a fraction of the money Obama spent on pet projects. Now, 44 million Americans have student debt which rose from $650 billion to $1.5 trillion in 10 years.
These Americans all owe interest in this debt.
When the 2016 crime stats came out, Obama’s opioid-related-fentanyl drug deaths surged to 65,000 as the synthetic poisons poured in from the southern U.S> border. The drug problem of synthetic dope coming over the borders is so bad synthetic opium drug deaths were up more than 500% in the last few years of Obama’s tenure. That grim stat will forever taint his legacy. Sadly, annual suicides rose from 35,000 to 45,000 during Obama’s tenure (and many of those are attributable to the lack of jobs).
President Donald Trump’s tax cuts have had a dramatic effect on small business and public companies. American workers’ wages are higher and workers are able to more easily afford health care and education.
The greater standard deductions and exemptions are also helping the middle class and working poor get ahead in the rat race for the first time in a generation.
Obama left this country in a mess. Trump has led the country to new economic records in less than 2 years! Our children and neighbors are finding more job openings than workers seeking jobs for the first time in history.
Many would agree that the new enhanced ability for the U.S. to complete with other countries will allow this economy to stay strong as long as interest rates stay at a reasonable rate.
George Mentz JD MBA CWM Chartered Wealth Manager ® is a licensed attorney and CEO of GAFM ® global education, which is an ISO 29990 Certified professional development company operating in over 50 nations. Mentz is an award winning author and advisory board member to several companies around the world in education, charities, and crypto currency.
© 2024 Newsmax Finance. All rights reserved.