Economic Policies And The Administration

The Great Recession officially began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, which determines the start and end dates of U.S. recessions based on a range of economic indicators.Jun 26, 2014

The last time I looked it was July 2015; six years after the end of the Great Recession. During most of that time one party had control of the Congress and White House. As it demonstrated with the Affordable Care Act,  for several years it could do anything it wanted to do.  It could have raised the minimum wage for example. It could have modified the tax code and changed laws to favor economic growth. It chose not to. Instead, the Administration and its supporters chose to divide Americans, to moan about inequality and the struggling middle-class, to attack successful Americans. 

Here we sit and the political left highlights all the things we have known for years with a look of consternation on their face. How did it happen that our recovery from the recession hasn’t been what it should have been; who do we blame now?

Bush? 

Why haven’t we been building the middle-class since 2009?

Center for American Progress

July 31, 2015
Economic Snapshot: July 2015
Christian E. Weller on the State of the U.S. Economy

Economic data continue to highlight three economic policy challenges. First, economic growth remains lackluster by historic comparison, which impedes job creation. Second, many of the people who do have jobs lack adequate wages and decent benefits. Third, some vulnerable population groups suffer more in this economy than their counterparts. Communities of color and people with less education, for example, often struggle with lower wages and higher rates of unemployment than whites and people with more education.

Many of the same policies that strengthen the middle class can also spur faster economic growth. Building a stronger middle class is only one step toward addressing the triple threat of slow economic growth, weak wage growth, and disproportionate economic struggles. The bottom line is that policymakers can do a lot more to build real economic security for families who have struggled through the Great Recession and its aftermath.