American Families Feeling Economic Insecurity Under Bush's Failed Policies

Under President Bush's failed economic leadership, too many American families are feeling less secure financially. According to a new study by the U.S. Federal Reserve, average family income fell by 2.3 percent from 2001 to 2004. Median real wages also dropped more than 6 percent during that time. Under President Clinton, in contrast, average family income increased by 17.3 percent from 1998 to 2001. [USA Today, 2/24/06]

Equally distressing is the fact that the minimum wage has not been raised in nine years. As a result, the Economic Policy Institute noted recently that the "real value of the minimum wage has fallen significantly, as minimum-wage workers earned only 32 percent of the average hourly wage in 2005," creating the "greatest inequality between minimum-wage and average-wage workers since the end of World War II." [Economic Policy Institute, 2/17/06]

"Too many American working families today live on a financial cliff. Under President Bush's watch, they are now experiencing the greatest economic insecurity since the second World War," said Democratic National Committee spokesman Dag Vega. "It is time for the President to work with Democratic leaders who have put forward a plan to create jobs that will stay in America, restore fiscal responsibility and middle class tax fairness."