Sean Patrick Maloney: “if you look at the headline economic numbers and listen to the Bush Administration's talking points, you could get the…”

“if you look at the headline economic numbers and listen to the Bush Administration's talking points, you could get the impression that the economy is in pretty good shape. But when we talk to our constituents, we get a very different picture. We hear anxiety about the economy, and a feeling that things are not going very well for the typical American family. The White House seems puzzled by this discrepancy, but it is very simple. The benefits of the economic recovery from the 2001 recession have not been going to ordinary Americans. President Bush likes to cite statistics on how fast the economy is growing and how much productivity has increased. But what he does not mention is that, on his watch, the economy went through the most protracted job slump in decades. There is still considerable evidence of hidden unemployment and that the benefits of productivity growth have been showing up in the profits of companies rather than in the paychecks of ordinary American workers. Yes, workers have become more productive. They produce more and more in each hour that they work, but they have not been getting this reward in their own paycheck for their productivity. Average hourly earnings have not keep up with inflation for the past 2 years, and they barely kept even the year before that. Median family income has failed to keep up with inflation every year under President Bush. Mr.…”