The Mouse that Roared

"Their" chart.... Our chart...





For some time now, I’ve been saying that all the optimistic figures regarding our economy are slanted and presented to us by the media in such a way that creates the illusion of a good standard of living in our country. Well, now thanks to the latest report from the Census Bureau the truth is out.

Relying on such figures, the study's authors found that after adjusting for inflation, men in their 30s in 2004 had a median income of about $35,000 per year, for a 12 percent drop compared with $40,000 per year for men in the same age group in 1974.
In other words, in 30 years we have gone backwards in our real take home pay. Is this progress?

However, daily accounts of the stock market revel on the ever-increasing gains.

DOW + 66.15 + 0.49% 13,507.28 NASDAQ + 19.27 + 0.76% 2,557.19 As of close May 25 S&P

Remember when the DOW broke the 12000 barrier not long ago? Never mind that! Now they are looking forward perhaps to a 14000 as a target.

And this game is the one that government and media are playing constantly. Huge gains in the market, which theoretically at least should translate into a trickle down of better salaries and benefits, right? Forget it! Most of the workers are not better, many don’t even have a job anymore, millions have lost their health protection and the prices we all pay for everyday necessities are constantly going up. That’s our reality.

Of course that’s not the reality of Wal-Mart, Chevron, Conoco Phillips, GE and many other giants or that of their CEO’s, COO’s or however other CXX’s you want to name them. These guys and the shareholders of those companies are the ones enjoying the profits and the growth. And goes without saying that is in some form the reality of our representatives in Congress or our employees at the White House, since they have their own ways to pad their road to retirement, at our expense.

More and more we are headed into a society where just a few people will dictate the terms of our subsistence and it’s very little we can do. Those at the top of course won’t even blink by comments like this. The mid-tier, happy to stay in the game and pocket some of the spoils, must show support or else, and the vast majority, the lower tier better keep their mouth shut while they still get a paycheck. That’s inside.

On the outside, we have no help whatsoever since the only hope would have been an active and independent media to expose the grossness of it all and those outlets, the ones we see everyday, everywhere in print or TV and radio are practically owned by, guess who?

Internet is perhaps where we can hear, if we pay enough attention, the traditional roar of the mouse. Can you hear it? Hell, I don’t even think you are paying attention. Come back, come back, and leave that Tivo alone!