My favorite “George” in government is Rep. George Miller from California. He’s been all over the Wal-Mart issue, among other things, and a tiger on workers’ rights. So, he’s put out a new report on the economy, which summarizes neatly many of the items I’ve brought up here:

►Families are earning less. Since 2001, median household income has fallen by $1,300. For households headed by someone under the age of 65, the trend is even worse. Their incomes have fallen $2,000 since 2001.4 Between 2004 and 2005, their incomes fell by $275. (The median income rose modestly in 2005 because households headed by someone over the age 65 saw income gains from Social Security and investments – not from work.) In fact, wages and salaries now make up their lowest share of the economy. Meanwhile, corporate profits make up their largest share of the economy since the 1960’s.

►More Americans lack health insurance. Since 2001, the number of people without any health insurance coverage at all has increased by 6.8 million. The number of Americans without health coverage – 46.6 million – is at a record high.

â–ºPoverty is up. Since 2001, the number of Americans living in poverty has increased by 5.4 million, to 37 million. More than one in six American children now lives in poverty. Among African Americans, the poverty rate is 24.9 percent; among Hispanic Americans, it is 21.8 percent.

►Prices for life’s basic necessities are up. Since 2000, the prices of education, gas, and healthcare have all greatly outpaced inflation. Between 2000-01 and 2005-06, tuition and fees at four-year public colleges increased by 57 percent, pushing college further out of reach for American families. Between 2000 and 2005, the price of regular unleaded gasoline grew by 58 percent. Between 2000 and 2005, premiums for family health insurance grew by 73 percent. Meanwhile, inflation grew by 13.4 percent between 2000 and 2005. When you consider the high costs of housing and child care in much of the country, it is clear that simply paying for the basic necessities is squeezing the budgets of most American families.

The only place I’d disagree with Miller on is blaming just the Bush Administration. The Bushies have made things much worse but, for example, wages have not kept pace with productivity going back to the 1970s–which highlights the link between the corporate influence on our elected representatives who have not been willing to harness abusive corporate power and greed.