If Incomes are Down, Where is the Economic Spending coming from? Industrial Production Still Lower, Credit Contraction, and Average Work Week at Recor

With 8 million jobs lost in this great recession, it is rather surprising to see so many people enter into a deep capture mode of believing in a quick and efficient recovery. If we look at data in the misery index, the average American has a hard time swallowing the jagged economic recovery pill. They look at their paychecks and see no recovery. They look at rising healthcare costs and see no recovery. They send their kids to colleges where costs are going up 8,9, or even 10 percent per year. The data simply does not reflect this actual reality. Are things better than say in March? Depends on what we look at. Sure, the stock market is up a record 60 percent but does your life feel 60 percent better? Is your pay up by 60 percent? What about your bottom line? If we look at disposable income for the average American, it has actually fallen. If it follows that two-thirds of our economy is based on spending, then where is this money coming from?

Let us first look at disposable income: (more)