Economic data?

[Bottomfeeder 244]

Could it be hyperinflation? I think so, but the fed and treasury will attempt a soft landing. Absent some catastrophy, it might work. I doubt it though. Everything this present government has done is an absolute failure, in the eyes of God and mine.

http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/pm110

Updated June 12, 2006 | EPI Policy Memorandum

What's wrong with the economy?

by EPI President Lawrence Mishel and Policy Director Ross Eisenbrey

1. Profits are up, but the wages and incomes of average Americans are down.

Inflation-adjusted hourly and weekly wages are below where they were at the start of the recovery in November 2001. Yet, productivity—the growth of the economic pie—is up by 14.7%.1 (Figure A)

Wage growth has been shortchanged because 46% of the growth of total income in the corporate sector has been distributed as corporate profits, far more than the 20% in previous periods.2

Consequently, median household income (inflation-adjusted) has fallen five years in a row and was 4% lower in 2004 than in 1999, falling from $46,129 to $44,389.

2. More and more people are deeper and deeper in debt.

3. Job creation has not kept up with population growth, and the employment rate has fallen sharply.

4. Poverty is on the rise.

5. Rising health care costs are eroding families' already declining income.

Core PCE

http://calculatedrisk.blogspot.com/2006/05/core-pce.html

You can calculate the actual number using the Chain-type price indexes, also in Table 9. The math is simple: divide April by March and subtract 1. For March, the reported increase was .3%. The actual increase for March was 110.941 divided by 110.586 = 0.32% or 3.9% annualized.

Table 11 presents the annual increase (YoY) of core PCE.

There is one more CPI release (Jun 14, 2006) before the June 28/29 Fed meeting.

Finally, the Dallas Fed provides a slightly different measure: Trimmed-Mean PCE Inflation Rate. This will also be interesting to check (I'm not sure when they will release the data for April - but probably some time on Friday).

http://dallasfed.org/data/pce/index.html

April 2006

The trimmed-mean PCE inflation rate for April was an annualized 3.0 percent. According to the BEA, the overall PCE inflation rate for April was 5.9 percent, annualized, while the inflation rate for PCE excluding food and energy was 3.0 percent.

The tables below present data on the trimmed-mean PCE inflation rate and, for comparison, the overall PCE inflation and the inflation rate for PCE excluding food and energy. The tables give annualized one-month, six-month and 12-month inflation rates.

Don't ya just love this place?

[DKW 86 7,431]

BF, So if wages have not kept up with inflation what has caused that? Could it be that we are competing with laborers that work for half or less of our wages world wide? Maybe we started the cycle as being well overpaid for the rest of the world. stagnant wages and productivity gains and profits staying thesame as before seems to say we are treading water.

Look, I know wages in America are going thru a huge adjustment now. But as we get into a real world economy that will eventually change as the rest of the world starts catching up with our standard of living. I didnt say it would be very soon though.

[Bottomfeeder 244]

That's why the new fed chairman and treasury secretary. They are to slow the rate of bleeding dollar and inflation. Instead of dramatic increase in prices, which would create a panic in the global markets, we'll have slow painful death.

We are not over paid, we're underpaid. CEOs are overpaid.

[DKW 86 7,431]

CEOs are overpaid.

I agree with this on Lay, Scrushy, etc.

But if Ford or GM could have hired Welch away from GE they would have and they would not be in the mess they currently find themselves. Sometimes, sometimes, a CEO is worth close to what you pay them.

So how would you change this BF?

[bigsixfive 328]

We are not over paid

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An arguement could be made that we are. Occupations in Mexico and other countries pay far less than similar American occupations, while the cost of living in certain parts is just as high as America. An example off the top of my head would be Monterey, Mexico. Engineers get ~$20K per year, but the cost of living is comparable to many places here in the American South East.

[Bottomfeeder 244]

Heck, I don't know. I wouldn't want to regulate incomes, that's communist. How about spanning them to the standard of living the average employee has to deal with. Instead of a life of luxury, they would have to have the mindset of Henry Ford.

[DKW 86 7,431]

Heck, I don't know. I wouldn't want to regulate incomes, that's communist. How about spanning them to the standard of living the average employee has to deal with. Instead of a life of luxury, they would have to have the mindset of Henry Ford.

240558[/snapback]

Kind of like Ben & Jerry's? Remember, no one would take the CEO job at B&J's.

So is CTT worth his salry or not?

[Bottomfeeder 244]

Heck, I don't know. I wouldn't want to regulate incomes, that's communist. How about spanning them to the standard of living the average employee has to deal with. Instead of a life of luxury, they would have to have the mindset of Henry Ford.

240558[/snapback]

So is CTT worth his salry or not?

240559[/snapback]

Oh, yea!

[DKW 86 7,431]

Heck, I don't know. I wouldn't want to regulate incomes, that's communist. How about spanning them to the standard of living the average employee has to deal with. Instead of a life of luxury, they would have to have the mindset of Henry Ford.

240558[/snapback]

So is CTT worth his salry or not?

240559[/snapback]

Oh, yea!

240586[/snapback]

And there you go...

[keoson7 28]

I started in my trade(tile installer) in 1990, Installation rate was $2 foot,

in 2003 still $2-$2.50s.f.(diag)from most flooring stores and home builders, now its a whopping $2.25-$3(diag). however the price of everything else has doubled. So I gotta work alot faster to make ends meets. This scale does not include mexican or european cutthroat pricing either.

I guess this week i turn in my bill for $3.50 or $4 s.f., cost of living adjusted?

[Bottomfeeder 244]

I have notice that labor price increases have not really been fair. This is especially true in the south. It seems every time a cost of material increase takes place, labor takes the hit. I worked for many people who undercharge, only charging the market rate, thereby undermining fair wages )and benefits?) for the employee. Wages in the south have been virtually stagnate for about 15 years. Another thing that irks me are the hiring staff companies getting a cut of my labor. Boy, that ticks me off. Getting paid a fee, or taking pay from the worker over the period of the employment, just to find help for contractors.

Cut throat contracting practices reduces our sales ability to one area - quality. The average worker does not increase their knowledge of the trade, but a few do. I'm one of those few. Right now there is a labor shortage, and all of the hiring in the area is panicked, causing a hiring boom. But, there is problem, future inflation. Most of the contractors don't like to give raises. When ask for a raise they usually tell you if you not happy hit the road. And, even if they are paying a decent wage they, want you to travel 50-70 miles one way at your own expense which negates any wage benefit one might have acquire during the initial hiring negotiation. Three-dollar per gallon gasoline is a true motive for the desire to stay within a respectable radius of home.