Romney Campaign Press Release - We Can Change It: After Four Years, a Middle Class That Isn't Better Off

"In 2008, Candidate Obama promised voters in Charlotte that he would deliver a better future for middle-class families. But four years later, the middle class isn't better off, with declining incomes, fewer good-paying jobs, and families struggling to make ends meet. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will strengthen the middle class by passing pro-growth policies that create 12 million new jobs and higher take-home pay for families." –Andrea Saul, Romney Campaign Spokesperson

Four Years Ago, Candidate Obama Told Charlotte Voters He Didn't "Want To Wake Up In Four Years" To Find More Middle-Class Families Struggling:

Candidate Obama, In Charlotte In 2008: "I Don't Want To Wake Up In Four Years To Find That More Americans Fell Out Of The Middle-Class, And More Families Lost Their Savings." OBAMA: "I don't want to wake up in four years to find that more Americans fell out of the middle-class, and more families lost their savings. I don't want to see that our country failed to invest in our ability to compete, our children's future was mortgaged on another mountain of debt, and our financial markets failed to find a firmer footing." (Senator Barack Obama, Remarks, Charlotte, NC, 9/21/08)

But When He Arrives Back In Charlotte This Week, President Obama Will Face A Middle Class That "Has Shrunk In Size":

Pew Research: "The Middle Class Has Shrunk In Size, Fallen Backward In Income And Wealth..." "Since 2000, the middle class has shrunk in size, fallen backward in income and wealth, and shed some—but by no means all—of its characteristic faith in the future." ("The Lost Decade Of The Middle Class," Pew Research, 8/22/12)

The Majority Of New Jobs Created In President Obama's So-Called Recovery "Pay Much Less" Than Jobs Before The Recession. "Although six in 10 jobs lost during the Great Recession paid mid-level wages, the majority of new jobs created in the recovery -- positions such as store clerks, laborers and home healthcare aides -- pay much less, according to a new study." (Jim Puzzanghera, "Majority Of New Jobs In Recovery Are Low-Paying, Study Finds," Los Angeles Times, 8/31/12)

• "The Findings Highlight Concerns About A Shrinking Middle Class..." "The findings highlight concerns about a shrinking middle class and pose another obstacle to getting the economy back on track, said Annette Bernhardt, policy co-director at the National Employment Law Project, which conducted the study." (Jim Puzzanghera, "Majority Of New Jobs In Recovery Are Low-Paying, Study Finds," Los Angeles Times, 8/31/12)

Lower-Paying Jobs Account For Nearly 60% Of The Jobs Added Since The Recession Ended In 2009. "Lower-paying jobs, with median hourly wages from $7.69 to $13.83, accounted for just 21% of the job losses during the recession. But they've made up about 58% of the job growth from the end of the recession in late 2009 through early 2012." (Jim Puzzanghera, "Majority Of New Jobs In Recovery Are Low-Paying, Study Finds," Los Angeles Times, 8/31/12)

Median Family Net Worth Has Hit A Two-Decade Low. "The Great Recession shrank Americans' wealth so much that in 2010 median family net worth was no more than it had been in 1992 after adjusting for inflation, the Federal Reserve reported Monday. Median net worth declined from $126,400 in 2007 to $77,300 in 2010, a Fed survey of family finances found. The median marks the point where half had more and half had less." (Martin Crutsinger, "Fed Report: Middle Class Net Worth Tumbles," The Associated Press, 6/12/12)

The Wall Street Journal: "The Three-And-A-Half Years Of The Obama Presidency Have Done Enormous Harm To Middle-Class Households." "He may care, but he sure hasn't done much for them. New income data from the Census Bureau, tabulated by former Census income specialists at the nonpartisan economic consulting firm Sentier Research, reveal that the three-and-a-half years of the Obama Presidency have done enormous harm to middle-class households." (Editorial, "Negative $4,019," The Wall Street Journal, 8/24/12)

And "Almost Every Group Is Worse Off" In The Obama Economy With Declining Incomes And Smaller Paychecks:

"Almost Every Group Is Worse Off Than It Was Three Years Ago, And Some Groups Had Very Large Declines In Income." "'Almost every group is worse off than it was three years ago, and some groups had very large declines in income,' Green, who previously directed work on the Census Bureau's income and poverty statistics program, said in a phone interview today. 'We're in an unprecedented period of economic stagnation.'" (Jeff Kearn, "U.S. Incomes Fell More In Recovery, Sentier Says," Bloomberg, 8/23/12)

• "Across The Country, In Almost Every Demographic, Americans Earn Less Today Than They Did In June 2009, When The Recovery Technically Started." (Catherine Rampell, "Big Income Losses For Those Near Retirement," The New York Times, 8/23/12)

Since President Obama Took Office, Median Household Income Has Declined By Over $4,000. "In January 2009, the month President Obama entered the Oval Office and shortly before he signed his stimulus spending bill, median household income was $54,983. By June 2012, it had tumbled to $50,964, adjusted for inflation. (See the chart nearby.) That's $4,019 in lost real income, a little less than a month's income every year." (Editorial, "Negative $4,019," The Wall Street Journal, 8/24/12)

"For The First Time Since The End Of World War II, Mean Family Incomes Declined For Americans In All Income Tiers." "Their downbeat take on their economic situation comes at the end of a decade in which, for the first time since the end of World War II, mean family incomes declined for Americans in all income tiers. But the middle-income tier—defined in this Pew Research analysis as all adults whose annual household income is two-thirds to double the national median —is the only one that also shrunk in size, a trend that has continued over the past four decades." ("The Lost Decade Of The Middle Class," Pew Research Center, 8/22/12)

People Who Have Jobs "Are Hurting" With Paychecks That "Have Fallen Behind Inflation." "More than in any other post-World War II recovery, people who have jobs are hurting, too: Their paychecks have fallen behind inflation." (Paul Wiseman, "Economic Recovery Is Weakest Since World War II," The Associated Press, 8/15/12)

Average Weekly Wages Declined In 2011, "One Of Only Five Declines Since The Category Was Created In 1978." "Unemployment ebbs and flows, but one measure of the nation's economic health, average weekly wages, rarely dips. Until now. In the latest demonstration of the struggling economy that threatens President Obama's reelection, average weekly wages fell in 2011, one of only five declines since the category was created in 1978 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics." (Paul Bedard, "Wages Drop, Only 5th Time In 33 Years," The Washington Examiner, 7/2/12)