Economists from Northeastern University have found that since our wageless "recovery" began in June of 2009, following an 18 month Great Recession, "corporate profits captured 88 percent of the growth in real national income while aggregate wages and salaries accounted for only slightly more than 1 percent of that growth."
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has revealed the average real hourly earnings for all US employees actually declined by 1.1 percent between June 2009, when "recovery" began and May 2011, "the month for which the most recent earnings numbers are available.
The Wageless, Profitable Recovery - NYTimes.com
Ellen Brown connects the dots between rising corporate profits and declining hourly earnings with how the Wall Street bailout killed local lending, thereby making it impossible for small business owners to drive an authentic recovery.
"The credit collapse of September 2008 was triggered by the speculative activities of giant Wall Street banks.
"These profligate banks, which would have gone bankrupt without federal support, have emerged from the crisis bigger and more powerful than before.
"The federal government has supported and subsidized bank consolidation, resulting in the elimination of more than a thousand community banks by takeover or failure."
The big banks take advantage of an extremely low Fed funds rate to speculate in derivatives, futures, commodities and currencies, knowing the US taxpayer will bail them out again when their bets go bad.
"They are big, they are powerful, and they have lost interest in local lending. In the past three years, the four largest banks have cut back on small business lending by a full 53 percent.
"The two banks that were the largest recipients of TARP funds, Bank of America and Citigroup, have cut back on local lending by 94 percent and 64 percent, respectively."
Ellen's solution to this problem is the same one the state of North Dakota discovered in 1919 when it began doing business as The State Bank of North Dakota.
"Alone among states, North Dakota had the wherewithal to keep credit moving to small businesses when they needed it most. BNDs business lending actually grew from 2007 to 2009 (the tightest months of the credit crisis) by 35 percent. BND accomplished this through participation loans, in which BND contributes to a community banks loan, in order to free up the banks capital for more lending..."
How the Bailout Killed Local Lending - and How Some States Hope to Bring It Back | Truthout
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has revealed the average real hourly earnings for all US employees actually declined by 1.1 percent between June 2009, when "recovery" began and May 2011, "the month for which the most recent earnings numbers are available.
The Wageless, Profitable Recovery - NYTimes.com
Ellen Brown connects the dots between rising corporate profits and declining hourly earnings with how the Wall Street bailout killed local lending, thereby making it impossible for small business owners to drive an authentic recovery.
"The credit collapse of September 2008 was triggered by the speculative activities of giant Wall Street banks.
"These profligate banks, which would have gone bankrupt without federal support, have emerged from the crisis bigger and more powerful than before.
"The federal government has supported and subsidized bank consolidation, resulting in the elimination of more than a thousand community banks by takeover or failure."
The big banks take advantage of an extremely low Fed funds rate to speculate in derivatives, futures, commodities and currencies, knowing the US taxpayer will bail them out again when their bets go bad.
"They are big, they are powerful, and they have lost interest in local lending. In the past three years, the four largest banks have cut back on small business lending by a full 53 percent.
"The two banks that were the largest recipients of TARP funds, Bank of America and Citigroup, have cut back on local lending by 94 percent and 64 percent, respectively."
Ellen's solution to this problem is the same one the state of North Dakota discovered in 1919 when it began doing business as The State Bank of North Dakota.
"Alone among states, North Dakota had the wherewithal to keep credit moving to small businesses when they needed it most. BNDs business lending actually grew from 2007 to 2009 (the tightest months of the credit crisis) by 35 percent. BND accomplished this through participation loans, in which BND contributes to a community banks loan, in order to free up the banks capital for more lending..."
How the Bailout Killed Local Lending - and How Some States Hope to Bring It Back | Truthout
