A new report reveals that not only have the after effects of the recession been more severe than thought, but offers perhaps the best revelation yet that the crisis has only continued even after we were told it was over.
Although the United States government has placed June 2009 as the official end of the last American recession, The New York Times reported over the weekend that in the two years since, the median household income — adjusted for inflation — has dropped by 6.7 percent. In comparison to how the “actual” recession affected Americans, the median household income between December 2007 and June 2009 saw a decline that stumbled downward at only half of the more recent rate. During when the government considered the recession, income dropped by only 3.2 percent.The latest analysis from The Times comes courtesy of former Census Bureau officials who have mulled over the economic trends as of late. They suggest that as of June of this year, the median household income in the US is less than one hundred dollars shy of $50,000. That number is 9.8 percent lower than the real median annual household income at the start of the recession, which the study places at $55,309.Additionally, unemployment figures from the beginning of the recession in early 2008 hovered near 5 percent before quickly surging to nearly double by the summer of the following year. Though the government officially called the recession quits shortly thereafter, the unemployment rate has remained above 9 percent for almost every month since, briefly skyrocketing to over 10 percent for the first time in an era. Despite a highly touted stimulus package aimed at reviving the American economy, President Barack Obama has failed to get the nation out of its slump since he entered office mid-recession. This week Congress is expected to take a look at his American Jobs Act, which he predicts will bring the unemployment act back towards 8 percent within a year. Meanwhile, thousands of Americans continue to rally against many of the factors they say are continuing to the economic downturn in the ongoing Occupy Wall Street movements spreading across the country. Outside of the parks being possessed by angst-filled Americans, economics are saying that their anger is all too warranted."The protesters are giving voice to a more broad-based frustration about how our financial system works,” President Barack Obama said last week. A week prior, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the American economy is “close to faltering” and acknowledged the growing demonstrations, saying he doesn’t blame people for taking to the streets. He has also called the economic problem a “national crisis” during a recent speaking engagement. Last month both the International Monetary Fund and House Speaker John Boehner warned of an impending recession as well. In August, billionaire hedge fund magnate George Soros also said a double-dip recession was likely