Obamanomics: Americans’ Take Home Pay Declined in January & February 2012

Thanks Barack Obama … American take home pay declining as gas prices are rising.  Add this to the other poor economic indicators under Barack Obama and one has to wonder how this race is as close as it is. Voters in November will be asking themselves if they are better off today than they were four years ago. If people are honest, Obama will be sent packing.

Americans’ take-home pay — one of the critical economic benchmarks for presidents seeking reelection — declined in January and February.

Research shows that the amount of money Americans earn after taxes and inflation is one of the most reliable predictors of a president’s November chances — more so than the unemployment rate. In the past year, most Americans have barely seen a bump in earnings, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

But the figures for the past two months create the potential for an even more dire situation for the White House: Wages increased at a slower rate than energy prices, so the measure known as disposable personal income dropped. With take-home pay effectively falling 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent in January and February, respectively. If take-home pay continues to fall, as it has for the first two months of the year, President Barack Obama would be lucky to get 45 percent of the vote, according to a model developed by former Harvard University professor Douglas Hibbs.