When you hear mention of a particular stock in a water-cooler conservation, it could be a sign the stock’s in trouble.
Think of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (Nasdaq: GMCR), Groupon Inc. (Nasdaq: GRPN) and …
This is a syndicated repost published with the permission of Money Morning – Only the News You Can Profit From. To view original, click here.…
This is a syndicated repost published with the permission of Money Morning – Only the News You Can Profit From. To view original, click here.…
This is a syndicated repost published with the permission of Money Morning – Only the News You Can Profit From. To view original, click here.…
This is a syndicated repost published with the permission of Money Morning – Only the News You Can Profit From. To view original, click here.…
U.S. President Barack Obama often makes a point of talking about how important our country’s middle class is to our economic growth – something he reiterated yesterday (Monday) in his second inauguration speech.
“Our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it,” President Obama said. “We believe that America’s prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class.”
But the financial reality that currently faces the U.S. middle class is not one that can support a country’s economic future.
For example, many middle-class workers have lost jobs or taken a pay cut since the president took office in 2009, and the 7.8% unemployment rate is the same as when President Obama first took office.
The labor force participation rate – the percentage of working-age people who are employed or actively seeking jobs – is at its lowest level in over 30 years, and those who are working are making a lower median income than they did 10 years ago.
At the same time, almost half of Americans are unprepared for financial emergencies. About 49% of Americans don’t have enough money saved to cover three months of expenses and 28%don’t have any money saved, according to a survey by consumer financial services firm Bankrate.com.
Here are five startling charts that outline a middle class decline that’s taken shape under President Obama.
This is a syndicated repost published with the permission of Money Morning – Only the News You Can Profit From. To view original, click here.…
This is a syndicated repost published with the permission of Money Morning – Only the News You Can Profit From. To view original, click here.…