The Death of the American Dream
There's been a couple new interesting studies come out recently, but this one is the most revealing.
“We find that 94% of net job growth in the past decade was in the alternative work category,” said Krueger. “And over 60% was due to the [the rise] of independent contractors, freelancers and contract company workers.” In other words, nearly all of the 10 million jobs created between 2005 and 2015 were not traditional nine-to-five employment. …
The study (here) was authored by Alan Krueger, who until 2013 was the top White House economist serving as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under Obama.
Total employment according to the CPS increased by 9.1 million (6.5 percent) over the decade, from 140.4 million in February 2005 to 149.4 in November 2015. The increase in the share of workers in alternative work arrangements from 10.7 percent in 2005 to 15.8 percent in 2015 implies that the number of workers employed in alternative arrangement increased by 8.6 million (57.2 percent), from 15.0 million in February 2005 to 23.6 million in November 2015. Thus, these figures imply that employment in traditional jobs (standard employment arrangements) rose by only 0.5 million (0.4 percent) from 125.4
million in February 2005 to 125.8 million in November 2015.
Which brings us to a second disturbing study from Brookings, that I can't but think it's related.
Another Chetty-bomb just exploded in the mobility debate. Writing with David Grusky, Maximilian Hell, Nathaniel Hendren, Robert Manduca, and Jimmy Narang, Professor Raj Chetty has just produced a stunning research finding: only half of Americans born in 1980 are economically better off than their parents. This compares to 90 percent of those born in 1940:
Almost as striking as the headline results is the finding that even for those born on the very bottom rung of the ladder, in the bottom decile, almost one in three (30 percent) are even worse off than their parents, five times as many as for the 1940 cohort (6 percent).
There is some variation between states, however. The drops in absolute mobility were highest in much of the Rust Belt—states which helped Trump to his victory...
It is hard to overstate how dramatic these findings are. If only one in two Americans are better off, in real terms, than their parents, it is not hyperbole to wonder about the death of the American Dream.
...
There are two possible factors for the decline in mobility: slower overall economic growth or greater inequality. Both of these have a role to play, but the findings suggest that rising inequality explains the lion’s share of the decline in mobility.
Comments
....and Bernie was the only one sounding the alarm.
The real SparkyGump has passed. It was an honor being your human.
It was a big part of Trump's message
And maybe why he won rust belt states.
Good post
The haves are fewer
The have - nots are many many more.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
I can see it all around
I am better off than my mom/dad. But I see that my children are struggling just to make it. I am doing all that I can without going to the poor house to keep them propped up, but it is hard. And they are also trying, they are not just lounging around. 1 is in the Army, 1 is a contract programmer, 1 is an accountant at a small tax firm, 1 lives in Portland doing I have no idea what, 1 works at a frozen yogurt shop, 1 is a Sr in HS - wants to be a programmer, and 1 a Soph in HS - wants to be a game illustrator.
We wanted a big family, and the stress and happiness that accompanies that. But I see their struggles to make ends meet.
Lest anyone misconstrue 50% as any good,...
If there is no "American Dream" at all, no expectation that the next generation can have a better life than its predecessor, the percentage of those in improved conditions would be 50 percent. Equal numbers (50%) better or worse off than their parents, averaging out to no change in circumstances. That's where we are. And this is what the current administration and Wall Street and the Fed are touting as excellent economic growth.
I hope you're enjoying these good times!
Thanks for this. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also does
ongoing research and regularly publishes their findings(I know you know this but perhaps other do not.)
One nasty aspect might be called the Dawn Army - Workers gather at predetermined places and are picked up by drivers of vans who take them to WalMart, Frito-Lay and other large corporations. They work there but not for them; they work for contractors or Temp agencies. The Dept of Labor estimates that there are 2.7 million people thus employed and 20% of job growth since the Great Recession has been in this sector where fees are imposed on minimum wage workers taking some of what little that they are paid.
This also shields WalMart and other corporations from workers comp claims; unemployment taxes; and the duty to show that these workers are legal immigrants.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
Even people covered under workers comp
Are getting screwed. If they don't know that they need to have a designated physician, if they get injured at work their company will send them to the company 's doctor who will tell them that they don't have an injury. And people don't know that they have options to fight back against those determinations.
Plus there are new companies that tell other companies how to get out from paying for worker's injuries. It's a new cottage industry that has sprung up in the last few years.
I have been involved with the work comp system for almost 20 years now and I had to fight them for over 5 years after I got injured to get treated.
Now with these new companies starting up, I'm fighting my settled case again to get the treatment that was settled on when my case was settled.
Advice for anyone who gets injured at work. If you have decent health insurance, tell them that you were injured at home instead.
Because it took my workers comp 5 years to decide that yes I needed surgery, my nerve damage is permanent and I am developing new symptoms which I have to fight comp to cover.
It's a f'cking nightmare.
I wonder if we had single payer insurance if it would include work place injuries?
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
I have a friend who is a lawyer specializing in civil service
law at the federal level. This is what he and his attorneys do. He told me as regards federal workman's comp, he won't take the cases because he feels there is no following of precedents; doctors who have never seen the sick or injured person are given equal weight to specialists who have examined and treated the worker; and the ALJ's are under the pressure of an informal quota system.
He says he cannot accurately tell a prospective client what his/her chances are of success and he won't risk his reputation in this field. He calls it a legal snake pit.
From what you say, it's that way at the state level. It's a shame and people are suffering.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
duckpin, that is what is happening with me
My doctor got a call from another doctor who only read her chart notes and tells her that she's treating me the wrong way and that I'm on too many medications, even though there is one that I get filled once a year.
It didn't matter how many times she told him that, he wouldn't listen and told her to change my medication and put me on one that had been well documented I can't tolerate and to decrease the amount of my pain meds.
I filled the script but didn't take it and reported back that I couldn't tolerate it. So she put me back on the regime I have been on for over 10 years.
But they aren't done messing with my case. There are two more companies involved in my case and are trying to tell my doctor how she needs to treat me and she and her staff are so fed up with the hoops that they have to jump through I'm afraid that they might drop me. And as I wrote previously, I'm experiencing new problems and we are fighting them to get the tests she needs to find out what is happening.
I fought them after I first got injured and can't believe that I'm having to fight them again after my case is settled. They shouldn't be able to change the rules.
My lawyer is in another state and I hadn't had to have her help me with my case for years.
And no doctor who hasn't examined a person should be able to dictate treatment. How that is legal, I have no idea.
I kind of understand what your friend is saying, but people need lawyers to help them understand their rights and that they are supposed to be treated if they are injured.
The reason why they set up the system this way was so people wouldn't be able to sue their work place if they got injured.
Now if workers are being denied treatment they should be able to sue again, but we know that will never happen because the insurance companies have too much power.
Reiterating that if anyone gets hurt at work, try to get treatment by your personal doctor and stay away from WC.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
I am very sorry Snoopydawg that you are in this situation. I
thought, and my attorney friend thinks, medical ethics dictate that a doctor's diagnosis and/or treatment regimen cannot be over-ridden by someone, even if an MD, who has not personally examined the patient. An MD has to pass a state exam and serve a residency and all doctors should be considered equal - we know they are not - until and unless another doctor(s) examines the person and concludes otherwise. As you too well know, how can an MD sitting in an office who-knows-where say what the attending physician can or cannot do? And, this office-bound MD has a job based in part on the number of turndowns he/she makes. Right there is a conflict of interest - to me anyway - that seems to be built into the system.
Now my lawyer friend, who honestly is at the top of his field, will take on a client but emphasizes that it will be expensive, time consuming, frustrating, and unpredictable. There's still enough ethics left in the federal system, that most cases are predictable if the client is truthful and forthcoming to the lawyer.
It seems ethics take a back seat to money in the workman's comp system and you are the victim. I would have thought that the AMA would have at least made a public statement on this core ethical issue but, No, they aren't about to.
I hope you have a Merry Christmas and 2017 brings you physical relief and a positive resolution to your case.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
thanks duckpin for the well wishes
You bring up a good point about how an out of state doctor can over ride someone's personal doctor. Especially since that doctor only has the paper reports, but has no access to the images from MRIs, CT scans and other tests.
In most work comp cases, the lawyers get paid out of the settlement that people get after their case is settled,
And the court system is entirely nuts. 30-40 people sit in a waiting room while their lawyer and the work comp lawyer go before a judge to hammer out details. The patients have no say and aren't allowed in the room.
That isn't justice or fair, imo.
And there is so much money wasted in the system. The court building I went to had 2 floors of just worker comp cases. Look at all the staff needed to get the insurance companies to do their damned job and just treat people if they get injured at work.
I am sure that my insurance company spent more money on their phony doctors who said that there was nothing wrong even though they had the MRI that showed all kinds of problems. Then there's the money they spend on their attorneys.
It is just beyond ridiculous and getting worse.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
You're welcome - I am sorry for your troubles.
I think these cases - and yours, unfortunately - are an example of institutionalized waste that benefits the insurance companies, their staff, including high priced doctors and lawyers, and the management layer at the expense of the sick and injured and the taxpayers. It's milking the system for the sole reason of skimming profits where such activity is counterproductive and takes advantage of people who are suffering through no fault of their own. I also think it's a violation of the contract a worker has made to have a portion of his/her wages go to fund what was set up to be a simple insurance program to compensate the worker for loss of employment and loss of health. As you know, it's anything but...Workers Comp has nearly become the illness for which is should be the cure.
I think this bears repeating: I think it is unethical for a distant MD who has never examined the patient to have the power to over ride the patient's doctor who is totally familiar with the particulars of the case.
It's a crap shoot - sometimes a person wins - I hope you are one of them.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
I did win my case
It was settled 10 years ago but the insurance companies went back to court and got some rules changed so it gave them more control and that's when the outside doctors stated messing with people's cases.
I wish I had bookmarked the article about these new companies and how they are blocking people from getting treated. It went into great detail about how one person started a new company and instructing how to screw people.
The migrant workers are the ones who are affected the most because of their language barrier.
And as you stated, the amount of taxpayer money needed to run the court system is staggering.
One doctor decided that a person who was a paraplegic didn't need his in home care anymore and cut him off without warning and his family came home to find him covered in his waste. They had to sue to get the homecare back.
And yes it's unethical and I don't know how they can get away with doing it.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
If the Workmans Comp system were run with real judges or
if the administrative law judges were held to those standards then reopening a settled case - like yours - would be difficult(and subject to your counter-arguments) or impossible. "Case settled, next case" would be the rule of the day but adding private for-profit companies into areas where it's clear they don't belong, allows an entity to make money by denying injured people what they've earned. Getting compensation is a poor second to never being sick or injured on the job in the first place. Being unable to work at your chosen job is a significant blow. So it's triply bad news when someone is trying to make a profit from the system which is "trying to make you whole again" as they say.
The other point you made that I did not comment on is your medicine. You cannot tolerate a prescribed drug - it's poison to you in other words; yet, some MD who has never laid eyes on you insists you take this toxin into your body. 2500 years ago Hippocrates said to physicians, "First do no harm." So you're forced to poison yourself at the whim of a for-profit entity. Outrageous I think it is. And, like you, I don't know how they can get away with it.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
I appreciate your communication about this
I have found two articles about how it's now ethical for outside physicians to review a person's case and override my doctor's opinion on how she treats me.
https://www.propublica.org/article/the-demolition-of-workers-compensation
And this is happening all over the country and I don't understand why our government allows the insurance companies to do these things and shift costs to government programs.
I was injured in California, but now live in Utah. I'm still covered under CA's rules.
I have been getting some of my tests and prescriptions covered under Medicaid instead of trying to get them covered under work comp.
I'm not sure if California is a state that has said that pre existing conditions are no longer covered under work comp insurance.
I have a pre existing condition that hadn't bothered me until after I was injured. I have cysts in my sacral sack that are usually benign, but in some cases they act just like a herniated disc.
I went to court over them and the judge ruled that even though they hadn't caused problems before my injury could have made them start being symptomatic and ruled that they are covered under my injury.
I recently had a MRI that shows that it's probably the cysts that are causing my new pain symptoms. My doctor said that if they were responsible for the pain then he would try steroid injections.
Every nerve that goes down the legs go through these cysts and removing them is very risky.
Now I don't know if they are still covered under my original settlement or not. And I shouldn't have to worry every damn month if my insurance company is going to authorize my medications.
This is the article that talks about how the paraplegic got his home care terminated, but the judge ruled that they had to reinstate it.
Here's a link to another article about this topic. Both are great reads if you're interested.
https://www.propublica.org/article/workers-compensation-injured-workers-...
And you are right about not being able to work in my chosen profession is right on.
I was an Ophthalmic Photographer and I taught myself about the anatomy of the eyes and how to work the camera because my boss refused to teach me.
This was a few years after my head injury and with my short term memory problems it was a great accomplishment for me to learn this.
It's such an amazing field to work in and I was working with a group of retinal specialists that were pioneers in their fields.
And because the insurance company denied treating me, I lost that career.
It was my third injury at work and I continued working for 8 months while they denied treatment and finally got serious about it after my doctor took me off work.
And as usual, insurance companies are making huge profits but denying people to get treatment in a timely manner.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
The loss of a job has health implications. Depression is the
correct name for a major capitalist spasm because it literally causes people to go into depression because of loss of a career; loss of income; potential loss of housing; certain loss of dreams and aspirations, etc. It should gripe everyone who is not a 1%er that people are profiting from intentionally induced human misery. It's wrong and should be illegal; instead, it's encouraged.
Thanks for the quotes, it's new to me and I appreciate seeing them. I can see where it's legal but I cannot see where it's ethical. The state Boards of Medical Examiners are remiss and the AMA is remiss in my view. But then, the AMA hasn't protested MD's being involved with CIA torturing so it seems it's another stooge association.
Best wishes to you in Utah. I lived there in the extreme SW part and it had its good points and not-so-good points.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
I'm seeing a behavioral therapist
And as one person who commented on one of the articles said
Their job is to basically make you feel okay about how you are getting screwed by the insurance companies
Mine is doing a bit more, but she is working for them, so I don't really know what her goals are, but it has been nice talking with someone about how frustrating this is for me. And I don't think that she agrees with how an outside doctor could have any control over anyone's case if they haven't seen the person.
And you're right that it's the 1% that is doing these things. 20 companies are trying to get out of having to have this type of insurance altogether.
It saves them millions.
Yes, SW Utah has good and bad points.
I woke up to 7 inches of snow this morning but the sun is out and the sunset was awesome with all the snow on the trees.
I tried to capture it, but I messed up my camera settings.
But look for them Friday.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
So I guess the thing to do
if you're an upwardly-mobile college student, is to get an MBA and learn how to squeeze money out of underpaid workers?
native
Or Finance and create ever more opaque derivatives.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
It's a good job with a future!
until the next economic collapse
Next time might not be able to stop a global financial meltdown
How big is the derivatives market?
Article from May 2015
I meant the "job" of screwing your fellow human beings.
My guess is that job will always be available.
In Texas jails and prisons, the goon Building Tenders ran it for the bosses. Trustees did the little jobs for better food and privileges.
The setup was declared unconstitutional in the David Ruiz case, filed by convict Ruiz in 1972.
TDC fought the case for 30 years before Judge Justice, who had been on it from the start gave them his final "F.U." Ruiz died in prison in 2005. Judge Justice attended Ruiz' funeral. He was 86 years old.
http://www.workers.org/2005/us/david-ruiz-1201/
https://www.clearinghouse.net/detail.php?id=960
There is also a book- "RaceHoss, Big Emma's boy", by Albert Sample. I found it well worth reading.
Boss Band's address to the convicts is a classic.
https://www.amazon.com/Racehoss-Emmas-Albert-Race-Sample/dp/1499146531/r...
I nearly had one of those...
I was working a B.. in Philly. I dropped a old style tape drive on my left foot and broke the bone for my next to little toe inside my foot... I went to the company doctor... I just bruised it. I went to my doctor, he xray'd it and saw the broken bone. He set it and put me in a cast. I got a copy of the xray and gave it to the company doctor.... Who then low and behold declared I had broken a bone in my foot... They would cover the cost of my treatment (all of the xray and cast).
Worker safety and insurance board Ontario
www.wsib.on.ca
How civilised' countries do it.
There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know.
They are dirty bastards. But it's all good when you're on top.
Between 1999 and 2012 there was a decrease of 9%
in family income, included two earner families.
In 2012, corporate profits reached 10.8% of GDP, a record. (sorry I don't have more recent numbers at hand.)
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
Damn! remind me my pitchfork is outside in snow.
My armamenture. Screw spelling squiggles. I should "jump the gun" to offer offensive training abilities from someone who knows zero but I am female and age-appropriate. But no.
Edits. Bad brain day. Keyboarding was good this AM, so I am not entirely discouraged. HH y'all.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
I have several snow shovels I can send you ....
If you need it by spring.
Here's one I did independently:
Between 1999 and 2015, let's say 15 years:
The total dollar amount of individual income claimed in 1999 was $5 trillion.
The total dollar amount of individual income claimed in 2015 was $15 trillion.
Did your income triple in those 15 years? If your's didn't, then someone else went up more than triple. Actually 90 percent of Americans did not see their income triple in those 15 years. Gives you some idea of how vast the Neoliberal-policy gap is after the the nation's net income-gain is transfered from the Throwaway People of America to the already Wealthy Elites.
I suppose that's an early-death blessing, because every member of the next generation who does not exceed his parents earnings sentences ten elders to abject poverty with no program for relief. No society has ever survived as a civilization if each subsequent generation does not do as well or better than their parents. Otherwise, we have to send Gramps and Granny out to sea on ice floes.
As a result, the nation invests a great deal in the human capital of each new generation (health, education, higher training, living subsidies during school years) .
Oh wait.… We don't do that anymore.
Never mind.
____________________
The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
Yeah, but gay people can
get legally married now, if they can afford to. I'm sure that must provide great comfort to all the God-fearing folks in flyover country.
native
Fly-Over country has vastly expanded
The last election was all about the swing states, so anyone listening, really closely, could hear there was a "meh", as a lot voters that could have gone to the polls popped open their favorite beverage to witness another boss come into the box.
Fighting for democratic principles,... well, since forever
Good luck on even finding an ice floe
The old and sick must find a new way to go quietly away. Into a volcano? Off a bridge? Into the desert with no water? Houses burning down? Endless possibilities, but we stick around until Social Security says our time is up, used all the funds that you put in, now go away. Clever me, getting survivor's benefits. My husband took early SS at 62 and died at 63. I was 57, had to wait three years to collect his benefits. My own can wait until 70, when the payout is the same under current rules.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
Also see Smolski's piece in Counterpunch
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/12/23/third-coast-pillory-trump-wages-a...
Key paragraph:
This is the plan, then: the owning class will drag the working class down to where China's working class is now, with a middle class about the size of China's middle class, too. Here's Bloomberg on the size of China's middle class:
I'm sure the route that would have gotten us there fastest would have been with the TPP. Can the Republicans get the TPP passed over Trump's expected veto? Or will Trump sell us out and sign the TPP? The second one looks possible because Trump really has no principles.
A Google search pops up this diary from Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, and Trees from the pre-echo-chamber days of Daily Kos:
. Here's a parlor game for your Christmas and New Years' parties: guess which Presidents.
"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama
My guess would be
Ford, Dubya, and Obama. I'm probably wrong though.
native
two out of three!
Not bad!
"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama
Thanks!
OK then. i know this is risky Cass, but for umpteen million dollars, I'm gonna shoot for three. I'm gonna say... hold on... Nixon, Dubya and Obama.
native
Oh sorry.
Wrong link.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/3/7/1282880/-Since-1938-Only-Three-Pr...
So, yeah, Ford, Reagan, and Obama.
"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama
great post. here is strange stat I thought of...
Relates to upward mobility. So I got laid off, and my two great stepsons are now making more than me even though they are not making the same salary as I was pre-layoff. So in effect, it would look like they moved upward compared to me. But that was achieved by me moving downward big time. In fact, maybe we should have downward mobility rates also as your article shows that is the new reality--not upward mobility.
That would be an interesting statistic: downward mobility
and velocity of the ride down. My husband was laid off by corporate, after being VP of the company pre-buyout. I was terminated at University from a job that ruined research for me, but was also concurrent with hub's increasing health problems. Half of my retirement accounts (through Univ) were with TIAA-CREF. And then TIAA alone. As of next month that (they) are being transferred to Vanguard. My old bud Vanguard. TIAA is the last I have in the market. I have added no funds after loss of a paycheck. Retained my NY state employee designation and health insurance, which rose for 2017 to $84/month.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
Sorry to hear about the job loss.
Wishing you good luck.
Life is strong. I'm weak, but Life is strong.