To The Reader’s Forum:

What do a “strong economy” and “low unemployment rate” really mean when there are a million more troubled borrowers today than there were in 2010 during the Great Recession?

It means that the metrics used to measure the health of our national economy do not adequately measure the personal economies of our people. Statistics “in a vacuum” lie. The economic impact of our national, socioeconomic policies on the lives of real people do not.

About 41 million Americans, that is, about one in eight Americans live in poverty. Another 4 in 10 Americans, i.e., 126 million Americans, are one paycheck away from poverty.

A popular myth propagated by GOP political hacks and pundits is that most Americans who cannot afford or who can barely afford to make ends meet are overspending and living beyond their means. This is simply not true.

The truth is the means of ordinary Americans have not kept up with the growth of our economy. In fact, today’s median wage is barely higher than it was 30 years ago. So much for trickle-down economics!

The only people whose means have skyrocketed are those at the very top. They have received almost all of the gains from the growth of our economy over the past 30 years.

During this time period, the top 1 percent’s share of our nation’s income has doubled. The top one-tenth of that 1 percent’s share has tripled. A mere 400 Americans own more of our nation’s riches than the bottom 60 percent of adults in our country’s wealth distribution.

We are getting closer and closer to the “Roaring Twenties” wealth gap that preceded the Great Depression.

Maurice F. Baggiano

Jamestown