Tell It Like It Is
Posted by Vriz on May 9th, 2008
Defying all expectations, the Democratic Presidential race still goes on. Despite the “analysitis” that the media and the Washington pundits are suffering from at this point, the voters in the states holding primaries are still excited about the race. They attend the rallies and vote in the primaries in record numbers. This election matters to the voters a great deal. By all accounts Americans are not better off now than they were 8 years ago, when President Bush took office.
In 1999, the median household income was $41,994. Six years later, the median household income increased by only 15% percent to $48,451 in 2006.In 1999, the rate of unemployment in the U.S. was 4.2. Currently, the unemployment rate is 5%.The personal savings in the U.S. in 2000, were $169 billion. In 2006, they were a negative $103 billion.Finally, our trade deficit in 1999, was $264.9 billion. Today, it is a staggering $708.5 billion.
The next state to hold its Democratic primary is West Virginia. Here’s what the candidates who campaign in the state need to talk to voters about. West Virginia has lost more than 17,300 manufacturing jobs since 2000. A recent EPI study found that West Virginia lost more than 8,400 jobs between 2001 and 2006, due to U.S. trade deficit with China. Manufacturing accounts for $5.5 billion of West Virginia’s GSP. The U.S. has lost more than 3.5 million good-paying manufacturing jobs since 2000, and more than 40,000 factories have closed in the past 10 years. Our lopsided trade deficit with China cost the U.S. 1.8 million jobs from 2001-2006. Economy is the number one issue that the voters care about. The candidates need to tell the voters how they plan to make sure that good-paying jobs stay in the U.S. The long-term success of our economy depends on it.
