CHICAGO, Jan. 16, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dr. Ronald R. Pollina, Chairman of the non-partisan American Economic Development Institute (AEDI), says, "What has eight years of President Bush and four years of President Obama yielded for the American people? Simply the worst economy since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
"Since American voters decided to reelect President Obama and essentially the same Congress, we have in all likelihood already seen what 2012 -2016 will look like. 'It's déjà vu all over again.' Do we really believe that the next four years will reflect something other than the same indecisiveness, divisiveness, and incompetence we have experienced over the last four years?"
Although our Gross Domestic Product is back to pre-recession levels, Dr. Pollina says most Americans don't feel a recovery. The vast majority of Americans see their standard of living diminishing, incomes eroding, personal debt increasing, and job security wavering due high unemployment and underemployment. The poor state of the national economy can certainly be attributed to both the Bush and Obama administrations and two political parties whose primary concern is raising enough money for the next election, explains Dr. Pollina. The results of their poor stewardship are summarized below, courtesy of U.S. government statistical sources:
- Median Household Income: Average annual income decreased .07% for 2000 – 2011.
- Consumer Price Index (cost of living): Average annual increase of 2.5% for 2000-2011.
- American Standard of Living: Decreased for the period 2000-2011 (income down .07 percent and Consumer Price Index up 2.5 percent).
- Home Ownership: Decreased and to make matters worse, 28 percent of all homeowners have negative equity in their homes.
- American Personal Debt 2012 is the highest in history with:
- Average credit card debt - $15,900
- Average mortgage debt - $149,000
- Average student loan debt - $35,000
- Gross Federal Debt: Increased from $5.6 trillion in 2000 to $16.4 trillion in 2012 or by 192 percent.
- Trade Deficit: Increased from $377 billion in 2000 to $560 billion in 2011 or by 49 percent.
- Trade Deficit with China: Increased from $83.8 billion in 2000 to $295.4 billion in 2011 or by 252 percent.
- Unemployment Rate: The 1990s averaged 5.7 percent, but the Federal Reserve doesn't see the unemployment rate falling below 7 percent until at least 2014 and then will remain above 6 percent for 4-5 years.
- Childhood Poverty: Today, 16 million or approximately 25 percent of all American children live in households considered impoverished. This is equal to every man, woman, and child in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston combined.
"The key to resolving these problems is job creation," explains Dr. Pollina. "But no one in Washington seems to understand that simple fact. They're more interested in winning political points than solving our fiscal cliff and economic woes. No wonder Americans in a recent poll ranked cockroaches ahead of Congress."