Hit Bottom Yet? No Way

The MSM meme seems to be that the recession is bottoming out. Hmm. I read yesterday the US Postal service volume was down almost 15% in the 1st quarter of 2009.

That tells me we have a long way to go before we hit the bottom of the recession. My overriding observation is the Obama administration has not done much to restore the confidence of the average American and especially the small business owner.

Very few are planning to expand their business and evn fewer are starting new businesses.

Bad Economy ?

From an OPED today by columnist, Ron Brownstein.Let me paraphrase what he reported ....from 2000 to 2006, the number of households with annual income of $75,000 increased from:

• 16% to 24% in Iowa and
• from 26% to 38% in New Hampshire.
• FYI - that is an increase of 45-50% from 2000 to 2006 and
• Certainly does not seem to indicate household incomes have beem stagnant under the Bush administration. Here is the actual money quote:

"Some of the increase among high-end voters can be explained by the simple reality that there are more of them. From 2000 through 2006 (the most recent year for which figures are available), the share of Iowa families earning at least $75,000 increased from about one-sixth to nearly one-fourth, according to Census Bureau figures. In New Hampshire, the rise over the same period was from 26 percent to 38 percent. "