Well, you can *name* yourself "Fact Checker" ~~ but that doesn't *make* you a fact checker. . .
Unemployment is 5%, lower than 1996 when Clinton was reelected.
When people stop looking for work, they're dropped off the unemployment rolls. We know the figures have been screwed with.
More people employed than ever in the history of the country
The ARE more people than ever in the history of the country. More of them holding multiple jobs, too.
REAL GDP over 4% (ask some one if you don't know the significance of that statistic)
It should have been a good year for American families: the economy grew 4.2 percent, its best performance since 1999. Yet most families actually lost economic ground. Real median household income - the income of households in the middle of the income distribution, adjusted for inflation - fell for the fifth year in a row. And one key source of economic insecurity got worse, as the number of Americans without health insurance continued to rise.
http://select.nytimes.com/2005/12/05/opinion/05krugman.html
Home ownership is at a record high. More people live in a home they own now than at any time in US History Think housing bubble.
Housing Bubble Bursts in the Market for U.S. Mortgage Bonds
Dec. 6 (Bloomberg) -- In the U.S. bond market, the housing bubble has burst.
Bonds backed by home loans to the riskiest borrowers, the fastest growing part of the $7.6 trillion mortgage market, have lost about 2.5 percent since September on concern an 18-month rise in interest rates may force more than 150,000 consumers to default.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aDSB370ItSJU&refer=us
Inflation is still low
National Foreclosures Increase Almost 19% in October According to RealtyTrac(TM) U.S. Foreclosure Market Report
12,000 New Foreclosures Push Foreclosure Rate to Highest Level This Year.
http://sev.prnewswire.com/real-estate/20051128/NYM07728112005-1.html
Interest rates are still substantially below the average rate for the last 50 years.
Yep. And on their way back up.
Housing starts at a record high
"The devastating effects of hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma will likely keep overall construction material costs high and add to new construction in the effected region," said Nothaft, which he said should push home sales and single-family housing starts to record highs in 2005.
But the outlook for next year is less robust.
"Our forecast for 2006 has about a 7 percent decline in new starts and home sales, and with more moderate home price gains than in 2005," added Nothaft.
http://money.cnn.com/2005/12/05/real_estate/home_prices/?cnn=yes
10 comments:
Just can't admit that things are really better than they seem.
makes you want to spit nails, doesn't it.
Nice recitation of the fact, Puddle.
Well done.
cChalfonte
mmm...no posting about the defeatist wing of the democratic party.
What was left out was that one reason more people are employed is because fewer (mostly women) are working for free. Which may or may not be a good thing. The fact that fewer and fewer people are able to sustain themselves on their own plot of land is probably a negative since that kind of independence is what gave rise to much of our innovation.
Also, home ownership is not necessarily a positive from the perspective of the individual if it means that opportunities to relocate are restricted, a cash income is mandated, and public services are rationed.
hannah
Great post, Puddle.
There's something amiss with HEP again. Though I got in earlier this evening, now the page won't open. Since I failed to take note of the thread URL, I'm locked out. Just so somebody knows, in case other people can't get in either. As for myself, I'm gonnaa make it an early night.
Great post, Puddle.
There's something amiss with HEP again. Though I got in earlier this evening, now the page won't open. Since I failed to take note of the thread URL, I'm locked out. Just so somebody knows, in case other people can't get in either. As for myself, I'm gonnaa make it an early night.
Note: Bill Gates neglected to include either a history module or a spelling/grammar check in his version 1.0 of Fact Checker software. There have been several upgrades since the version being used at BFA. I believe the latest version is Fact Checker 2.005, with 2.006 on the way in the next few weeks. The new version also includes the ability to detect file-tampering. Check your favorite software dealer for the upgrade, but expect to shell out some big bucks.
Check out some new facts on the Hannah blog. Answer the question who is Jackson T. Stephens. And read up on the Wilkes Connection.
As Phil says, there is some resistance to disecting the "culture of corruption" because some Dems are going to get caught in the net. Not that Hilary's work for the Stephens Group is going to make us sad.
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