The Great Recession, as calculated by the
recognized talliers of such matters, has been over for 51 months. But the
latest survey of Americans by the Pew Research Center finds that 54 percent say household incomes have “hardly recovered at all.” According to 52 percent, the job situation has barely recovered. A majority, 63 percent, say the economy "is no more secure today than it was before the 2008 market crash."
This should be no surprise at a time when the top 10 percent of Americans are taking home more than half the nation's total income, more skewed than at any time in the century that records of such matters have been kept.
Even for many Americans who managed to find a job paying comparable wages after the economy started its tepid expansion in mid-2009, their investment and savings accounts are still empty from having to draw down their reserves to survive the recession. Others are still suffering the after-effects of foreclosures. And, of course, quite a few who have gotten jobs, or kept theirs during the recession, are working fewer hours, sometimes for less compensation, far less in many instances. And, although they may not know the details of the statistics, they know from talking to family and friends that the economic situation has simply not been restored to where it was when the crash struck.
More analysis below the fold.
The way people describe their personal financial situation is telling. A third (33 percent) say the recession had a major impact and their finances have still not recovered. Twenty-eight percent say it had a major impact and their finances have mostly recovered. And 37 percent say it did not have a major impact on their own personal financial situation.
It's also unsurprising that lower-income Americans are more likely to say they were hurt by the Great Recession and their finances haven't recovered than those in higher income tiers. Forty-four percent of respondents with household incomes below $30,000 a year say their finances have not recovered from the recession, with 22 percent of those with incomes of $75,000 or above saying so.
There also is substantial disagreement between Republicans and Democrats over whether the government has gone too far or not far enough in regulating markets and financial institutions.
By two-to-one, more Republicans say government regulations have gone too far making it harder for the economy to grow (64%), than say they have not gone far enough leaving the country at risk of another financial crisis (32%). Opinion among Democrats is the reverse: just 26% say the government regulations of financial institutions and markets have gone too far, while 62% say they have not gone far enough. Independents are divided: 51% say regulations have not gone far enough, 41% say they have gone too far. [...]
The beneficiaries of these policies, in the public’s view, are large banks and financial institutions, large corporations and wealthy people: Sizable majorities say government policies have helped all three at least a fair amount—69% say that about large banks and financial institutions, 67% large corporations and 59% wealthy people.
That perception ought to provide some fodder for the progressive agenda that doesn't have anything to do with austerity.