Lots of postings this morning, I know. Just a lot of interesting data points. Some days we get nothing, and then today? This is a list of statistics that are numbing when taken together. Wow. Some of the key ones: #1 A staggering 48 percent of all Americans are either considered to be "low income" or are living in poverty. #2 Approximately 57 percent of all children in the United States are living in homes that are either considered to be "low income" or impoverished. #6 There are fewer payroll jobs in the United States today than there were back in 2000, even though we have added 30 million extra people to the population since then. #7 Since December 2007, median household income in the United States has declined by a total of 6.8% once you account for inflation. #8 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 16.6 million Americans were self-employed back in December 2006. Today, that number has shrunk to 14.5 million. [Yet the BLS has increased B/B jobs.] #15 According to a recent study conducted by the BlackRock Investment Institute, the ratio of household debt to personal income in the United States is now 154 percent. #24 Electricity bills in the United States have risen faster than the overall rate of inflation for five years in a row. [Is it transitory, Ben?] #43 A staggering 48.5% of all Americans live in a household that receives some form of government benefits. Back in 1983, that number was below 30 percent.