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Concord, N.H. - Months after President Donald Trump’s tax plan passed in December, hardworking Americans still haven’t seen any benefits. Study after study has shown that as the wealthy continue to benefit from the GOP’s legislation and companies buy back their stocks in record numbers, workers’ wages have largely remained stagnant or decreased and too many are still struggling to get by.
Governor Sununu was an avid supporter of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act since the start, calling it “phenomenal” and praising the tax bill during a visit to the White House. In his own budget, Sununu gave the wealthiest 3% of corporations a $100 million tax cut.
NHDP Chair Ray Buckley issued the following statement:
“These studies show what we’ve all known for months: Trump and Sununu’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was nothing but a scam that will only benefit the wealthy. Too many Granite Staters and Americans are struggling to get by, but instead of passing legislation that would help, Trump was too preoccupied giving a tax cut to his rich friends. We need legislators who will hold Trump accountable for his actions and it’s clear Sununu will never be anything other than a GOP puppet.
Sununu was more than eager to play cheerleader to Trump’s disastrous agenda. Luckily, voters have a chance to remove Sununu from office and replace him with someone who will help all Granite Staters in November.”
By: Toluse Olorunnipa and Sho Chandra
President Donald Trump heads into a midterm referendum on his presidency showing no real progress on a core promise: to raise the wages of America’s “forgotten man and woman.”
Once the impact of inflation is included, ordinary Americans’ hourly earnings are lower than they were a year ago...
Inflation-adjusted hourly wages dropped 0.2 percent in July from a year earlier, their worst reading since 2012, according to the Labor Department, amid faster price gains. They’ve grown at an average 0.3 percent annual pace under Trump overall, compared with 1.1 percent during Barack Obama’s second term. Trump’s escalating tariff disputes risk eroding buying power further by driving up prices...
One in four Americans don’t think they’re “at least doing OK” financially, and more than one in five respondents said they were unable to pay the current month’s bills in full, according to the results of a late 2017 Fed survey released in May.
“People that depend on wages -- and that’s essentially almost everyone except higher-income or higher-wealth individuals -- are not seeing as much benefit from this economy,” said Gregory Daco, head of U.S. macroeconomics at Oxford Economics in New York. “People at the lower end of the income spectrum are actually more constrained.”
AP: Despite Strong Economy, Many Americans Struggling to Get By
Despite a strong economy, about 40 percent of American families struggled to meet at least one of their basic needs last year, including paying for food, health care, housing or utilities.
That’s according to an Urban Institute survey of nearly 7,600 adults that found that the difficulties were most prevalent among adults with lower incomes or health issues. But it also revealed that people from all walks of life were running into similar hardships...
The average unemployment rate for 2017 was 4.4 percent, a low that followed years of decline. But having a job doesn’t ensure families will be able to meet their basic needs, said Michael Karpman, one of the study’s authors. Among the households with at least one working adult, more than 30 percent reported hardship.
“Economic growth and low unemployment alone do not ensure everyone can meet their basic needs,” the authors wrote.
Food insecurity was the most common challenge: More than 23 percent of households struggled to feed their family at some point during the year. That was followed by problems paying a family medical bill, reported by about 18 percent. A similar percentage didn’t seek care for a medical need because of the cost.
Additionally, roughly 13 percent of families missed a utility bill payment at some point during the year. And 10 percent of families either didn’t pay the full amount of their rent or mortgage, or they paid it late...
The Urban Institute survey comes at a time when lawmakers are considering cuts to some safety-net programs, such as Medicaid, SNAP and housing assistance.
The researchers said that lawmakers run the risk of increasing the rate of hardship if they reduce support services.
It is the first study on the subject by the DC-based organization, which looks at economic and social policy issues. The institute plans to conduct the study every year to track the well-being of families as the economy and safety net systems evolve.
Urban Institute: Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey By: Michael Karpman, Stephen Zuckerman, and Dulce Gonzalez In December 2017, the Urban Institute launched the Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey (WBNS) to monitor changes in individual and family health and well-being as policymakers make changes to federal safety net programs and the labor market continues to evolve. This new annual survey is a key component of Urban’s From Safety Net to Solid Ground project supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and other foundations. The project offers insights into the implications of proposed changes to programs such as Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and housing assistance for the well-being of people striving to cover their basic needs.
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