Tomtrout

The US has an unemployment of 5% plus or minus. The average household income is about $1000 less than it was in 1999. How can this be possible with 95% employment? In 1999 the unemployment was higher The cost of healthcare insurance has risen in some cases as much as 40% and has tripled the deductible in the past 5 years. A report issued by the health department that the number of uninsured has been dramatically reduced. Since more money is flowing into healthcare insurers, why is the insurance premiums rising at a dramatic rate? My wife had a healthcare insurance policy with premiums of $187 per month with a $1500 deductible. This was cancelled because of Obamacare because it did not cover OB and well baby care. My opinion on abortion is not important but using our tax dollars and without our consent to provide for somebody else's abortion is insulting.

In 1999 I was making around $15 an hour with a Masters degree. Now a high school drop out is demanding the same wage even though average income has remained stagnant during this time between now and 1999. When I finished school being unemployed was never an issue. I already had a job with Uncle Sam whether I wanted it or not. I have worked hard for years with most weeks of over 40 hours at work. I was denied access to the VA healthcare system because they said that I made too much money with 2 part time jobs and Social Security income.

What the hell did I do wrong?

robmull Loc: florida

Possibly you are not taking into consideration, Tom, that these numbers are derived from "Obamanomics." Actually the current administration made sure that all the people who had gone through their weeks of unemployment and not been hired, were dropped off the "unemployment" statistics. I believe the number "off-the-list" is now {in America}, around 95 million, plus or minus; and the actual unemployment rate for working age {"Jihad" aged} blacks, is near 60%. Now subtract 55% from that 60%, and SEE, the unemployment rate is 5%. That was easy, huh!!! And I don't think ObamaCare was EVER really meant for American citizens to do anything but either get fined for no coverage, or pay the exorbitant fees and GIGANTIC deductibles {if you can find a doctor} that are necessary to carry all the illegal "homeboys" who are currently at the ER; and who are now quietly and un-Constitutionally flooding our "Shining Light on the Hill, From Sea to Shining Sea;" at American taxpayer expense. "You can KEEP your doctors...!!!" Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TRUMP!!!

bmac32 Loc: West Florida

What field were you in because I have a problem with $15.00 an hour and a masters degree. I have no degree, no college and was making $22.00 an hour working maintenance in 1999. Don't buy the 5% unemployed, Obama and his cronies are fudging the real numbers and no matter who wins that truth will come out.

lpnmajor Loc: Arkansas

You didn't become very rich - or very poor. You see, the folks in the middle get shafted, all the time, every time. Years ago, I had to quit work because of a neck injury, which later required expensive surgery. I had no job and no insurance at the time, but could receive no assistance because I made too much money - the year before. Did they think I saved every dime of the previous years income "just in case", or did they understand that those funds were used to pay for a car, home, fuel, utilities and so forth? They didn't even try to understand, it wasn't their job, they just did what the law said to do - and I was left with a $125,000 bill I couldn't possibly pay.

Since that time, I often wondered how folks on public assistance were able to live better than I did, in many cases, so I had a look. Now, I survived those terribly lean years, only because my wife was able to continue working, and because of her income, we were right at the "Federal poverty" level. The Federal poverty level kept me from getting any assistance, even after my punishment year had expired. Just what the hell is the federal poverty level anyway? Turns out, it is some eggheads in DC, some faceless bureaucrats, who determine how much money a person has to have to survive so that anything below that is "poverty".

You see, the middle people can't get any help with a mortgage, but lower income people can get rental assistance. Ah, home ownership is the difference. Had we not purchased a home, we would have been better off. Why? Because a home is considered an investment, that you can sell or borrow against to pay your bills - or get kicked out of. One must either become very wealthy, not needing any help, or one must get rid of everything one owns and have worked for, for years, or one must make it on one's own. To add insult to injury, I had to pay real estate and property taxes on what I owned just to keep it, even after struggling to pay for it - and the State took what measly tax refunds we had to pay my medical bill. I could have let the State take all my stuff for non payment of taxes, and then qualified for assistance, or I could have made sacrifices and suffered for years and keep my shit. I chose the later solution. I still don't have any money - but I own my home outright and they'll have to kill me to get me out - or raise my taxes so high I can't pay them, then they can legally kick me out of my own home.

I repaid a mortgage company for my home - and have to constantly bribe the State to let me stay in it.

Trooper745 Loc: Carolina

I often disagree with you, lpnmajor, but this time you are "spot-on"! Good Post!

randel1

Property ownership in this country is an illusion. You are just renting it from the local, state, and/or federal government. If you don't believe that just quit paying taxes and see how long you get to keep it.

padremike Loc: Phenix City, Al

Somethings, it seems, can't be fixed without violence. I fear we're rapidly closing that gap. I still do get some satisfaction yelling at the TV. My "forgive me" prayers seem to be getting longer than my "thank you." Old, fat, ugly, out of shape and getting cranky!

77Reaganite Loc: Athens, GA, United States

For one the unemployment rate that's is real is about 30% I come to that number because 95,000,000 people are out of the work force.That 30% is higher than it was during the "great depression.See the Department of Labor statistics only counts the number of jobs created that month it doesn't tell you if jobs created were part time or full time jobs also the people that gave up looking for work are also counted as working so those figures are only their to prop up a failed economy.Two our economy is being propped by the quantitative easing or money printing in lame man's terms.Their is a lot of funny money floating around so our inflation don't rise eventually If we keep printing phoney money our valued currency will be nil.We'll all be standing in breadlines.That’s why we need to go back to the gold standard and and abolish the 1914 federal reserve act.

padremike Loc: Phenix City, Al

There is not enough gold, and other precious metals, in the entire world that if they were all stacked into a single pile would be sufficient in value to pay off our current national debt. Before we can go on the gold/silver standard again I think we will need another severe world depression. I'm more concerned with that possibility than I am bovine farts destroying the polar ice caps and flooding Yellowstone National Park.

Smokie

The math doesn't work because 95% employment is bogus.