24 January 2014 (09:05 UTC-07 Tango)/22 Rabi ‘al-Awwal 1435/04 Bahman 1392/24 Gui-Chou (12th month) 4711
The U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis is reporting that at the end of 2013 unAmerican Corporate America has made record after tax profits! $1-trillion 868-billion USD!
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the median wage at the end of 2013 was $786 USD per week. Keep in mind that was for full time employment. The Bureau points out that only 104.8-million U.S. workers are considered full time or on salary, and there’s almost 318-million people in the United States.
In December 2013 there were 7.8 million part time workers, mostly for the holiday season which means they’re very likely unemployed now. There were 10.4-million officially unemployed people in December, and 1.5-million had quit looking for work! Another 2.4-million people are counted as “not in the labor force”, but looking for work (many who did not qualify for unemployment assistance).
The Bureau also reports that actual earnings for those who had a job in December 2013, went down slightly. Yet worker productivity went up by a full 3%! These are some reasons why corporations made bigger profits while the average worker made less “Real” wages.
How can unAmerican Corporate America continue to claim it cannot afford to raise wages, or hire more people, when it’s making record after tax profits?
“Our ideals and principles, as well as our national security……..That’s what makes America different. That’s what makes us exceptional.”-Barack Obama, 10 September 2013