Letter: Where do we now stand, economically? 

Dear Editor,

Statistical data from the Bureau of Labor report* with recent 2021 data that Americans on average** spent more on all taxes ($16,729.73) than they did for food, clothing and healthcare combined ($15,495.28). Interpretation: We’re paying top-dollar for incompetence.  

Having come off an accrual of four years having ended in 2020 with a steady and consistent growth of 2.5% a year, stock market gains of nearly 35% and coming into 2021 with low inflation averaging 2%. As it stands of recent days, the stock markets are in the midst of a severe second market drop, predicting an imminent recession to be greater than any in 40 years; the term being assigned by the financial world as a result of “Bidenomics”.  

With the current administration we have incurred a generated $5 trillion in new deficits, an end to national fossil fuel permitting and leasing, and have seen implemented at least $200 billion dollars of new regulations 40 times greater than at the end of 2020. Those imposed regulations have strangled business enterprise with compounding tax and regulatory regulations the keys for engines to prosperity. 

These killers have actually caused the average working Americans a 3.4% wage value cut over the same period of this past year. Using accruals of the previous 2022 year (FYTD) the rate of inflation is at 8.26%.***  

The top four (4) areas consumers and taxpayers are most concerned about for the coming year are based on estimated predictions of those costs to date; Electricity – Inc. 16%, Gas – 33%, 11.4% (more) groceries and inclusive of, at minimum, a continued 18 month shortage of baby formula. The second question of most concern was how do we get our old economy back?  

As an inquisitive sporadic poster I find proofed statistics are the realities. Where and how we will get back to whence we were can be answered if every eligible voter makes the effort to vote in November.

Sincerely,

Florence Alpert

Candor, N.Y. 

*  www.bls.gov/ (Bureau of Labor) 

** www.deptofnumbers.com/income/new-york/ (New York Household Income per 2019 Census ACS 1-year survey median household income for New York was $72,108)

www.in2013dollars.com/current-inflation-rate (Inflation Rate Table – 2015-2022 CYTD)