Americans' Household Income Falls Again - Is Wag the Dog Option On the Table?

Wag the Dog (1997)

Why does a dog wag its tail?
Because a dog is smarter than its tail.
If the tail were smarter, the tail would wag the dog.

Today in Washington, D.C. - Sept 13, 2012:
Turmoil continues in other Muslim countries against America. Yesterday, hundreds of protestors attacked the American Embassy in Yemen. And, 500 government backed protesters in Iran were in the streets shouting "Death to America." All, just two days after America remembered its dead after the 9-11 attacks by Muslims fanatics on America. Also, protests continued outside the American Embassy in Egypt, and at the American missions in Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia.

While liberal press seems intent on supporting the effort to support placing the blame on an obscure video verse the real factors. They are evidencing their intent to shield President Obama and his administration. An administration which has bowed physically and metaphorically too often to other countries while the president has verbally stated his support of the Muslim world.

We also have the U.S. Sec. of State Hillary Clinton, who is despised by most Sharia practicing Muslims, barely voicing her complaint against violent anti-American protests while denouncing a video as "disgusting and reprehensible." Well Hillary, so is the so-called depraved artistry against Christians; so is the so-called Muslim "honor killing" of women, so is the global murder of hundreds millions of babies in the womb.  But a be haggard Sec. Clinton has remained silent on these issues. The video is not the issue.  Sec. Clinton is not even respected by the Muslim world.  They hate female leaders like Clinton and if she lived in these countries she would be in a burka. Muslims also hate the U.S. State Dept being filled with gays and Clinton's open recognition of their relationships and sending them to foreign countries. Not all countries are willing to accept the U.S. "live and let live" philosophy.

However, these issues, like the video, are not the primary reason for the Muslim protests against the U.S.A. So, what is the reason behind these a deliberate attacks and protests orchestrated behind the scene radical who hate America?
Let's set aside the extremists hatred for any non-Sharia controlled country. Let's look at other factors. First, consider the weak economies in those countries where people have lots of time on their hands because of lack of jobs. It is evident that the billions of dollars the U.S. has poured into these countries over the years has gained us not friendship. Second, it is a fact that people living in third world countries resent and envy Americans. Third, Muslim clerics present to their followers that the U.S.A. as "the Great Satan. Finally, because of actions and statements by President Obama and by those within the Obama administration, the U.S.A. is now considered by others as extremely weak and vulnerable. And the enemies of America are embolden. As said yesterday, "The jackals are out in numbers."

With all this said, wonder if a "Wag The Dog" option is on the table to aid President Obama in his re-election?

The Senate and House both reconvened at 10 AM today.

The Senate resumed consideration of S. 3457, the Veterans Jobs Corps bill. Last night, they voted 84-8 to agree to the motion to proceed to S. 3457. Following the vote, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) immediately filled the amendment tree and filed cloture (to cut off debate) on the Murray substitute amendment and on the underlying bill. A vote is scheduled for Friday morning unless a unanimous consent agreement is reached on the bill.

House at noon will consider H. Res. 779 which provides for consideration of the bill H.R. 6213 to limit further taxpayer exposure from the loan guarantee program established under title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and providing for consideration of motions to suspend the rules."

Yesterday, the House addressed and debated four bills with were also voted on and passed:
H.R. 3857 (355-62) - "To amend the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to include as an eligible use the sustainment of specialized operational teams used by local law enforcement under the Transit Security Grant Program, and for other purposes."
H.R. 5544 (225-189) - "To authorize and expedite a land exchange involving National Forest System land in the Laurentian District of the Superior National Forest and certain other National Forest System land in the State of Minnesota that has limited recreational and conservation resources and lands owned by the State of Minnesota in trust for the public school system that are largely scattered in checkerboard fashion within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and have important recreational, scenic, and conservation resources, and for other purposes."
H.R. 5865 (339-77) "To promote the growth and competitiveness of American manufacturing."
H.R. 5949 (301-118) "To extend the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 for five years."

Negative Reports On The Stalled Economy and lack of a robust recovery from the most recent recession just Continue To Pile Up.

Yesterday, Pew Social and Demographic Trends wrote, “The median income of American households decreased by as much in the two years after the official end of the Great Recession as it did during the recession itself. The latest estimates from the Census Bureau show that the median income for U.S. households in 2011 was $50,054.1 In 2009, the year the Great Recession ended,2 the median income of U.S. households had been $52,195 (in 2011 dollars). Thus, in the two years since the end of the recession, median household income has fallen by 4.1%. The decrease in household income from 2009 to 2011 almost exactly equaled the decrease in income in the two years of the recession. During the Great Recession, the median U.S. household income (in 2011 dollars) dropped from $54,489 in 2007 to $52,195 in 2009, a loss of 4.2%. By this yardstick, the recovery from the Great Recession is bypassing the nation’s households. The current ‘recovery’ is also the most negative for household income during any post-recession period in the past four decades.”

Further, Pew noted, “The lackluster results on household income are symptomatic of broader struggles in the economic well-being of U.S. households. As noted in the latest Census Bureau report, the poverty rate has also risen in the two years since the end of the Great Recession, from 14.3% in 2009 to 15.0% in 2011. The rate in 2007 was 12.5%. . . . Another financial burden on households is the nosedive in their wealth (value of assets owned minus outstanding value of debt) due to the recession. The latest available estimates from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System show that median household wealth fell from $131,016 in 2007 to $79,431 in 2010, a loss of 39%. The malaise in income, poverty and wealth in part reflects the weak performance of the U.S. labor market.”

Today writes, “Overall, median household income fell 1.5% to $50,054 last year, the fourth consecutive annual decline after adjusting for inflation, the bureau said. The typical household has lost ground in seven of the past 10 years and now takes in less cash than it did in 1996 when adjusting for inflation. . . . Big losers: people in their prime earning years. All age groups between 25 and 64 suffered income drops in 2011. Households headed by 45- to-54-year-olds — when earnings typically peak — have seen a 13.4% decline in median earnings over a decade, a drop of nearly $10,000 a year.”

The New York Times summarizes the situation today: “[A]n overwhelming majority of Americans saw no gains from a weak economic recovery in its second full year.” And Pew concluded, “Overall, on the basis of some indicators, such as income and poverty, the economic health of American families deteriorated further in the first two years of the recovery from the Great Recession. Other indicators, such as unemployment, showed minimal improvement, if any. Much like an unwelcome dinner guest who does not know when it is time to leave, the Great Recession seems blissfully unaware that it was declared over in June 2009.”

As Sen. John Barrasso said in the Weekly Republican Address last week, “The reality is that America is not better off than it was four years ago. Today, 23 million Americans are unemployed or underemployed.  Many are our friends, neighbors, and family members. The undeniable truth is, President Obama is on track to have the worst jobs record of any President since World War II. . . . The President's policies have failed to produce the results, accountability, and solutions the American people deserve. The Obama Administration is simply not moving our country forward. . . . President Obama says he deserves a grade of ‘incomplete’ on his handling of the economy. But people only ask for an incomplete when they know they’re failing. He’s now asking you to give him more time. The question is—can we afford to give him that time.

Articles worth reviewing:
Pew: A Recovery No Better than the Recession

The New York Times: U.S. Income Gap Rose, Sign of Uneven Recovery

MarketWatch: Fed to launch QE3 of $40 billion MBS each month

The Washington Post: GM’s vaunted Volt is on the road to nowhere fast

The New York Times: Obama Grows More Reliant on Big-Money Contributors

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