# GOP gained ground in middle-class communities in 2016 **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 16, 2018, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-gained-ground-in-middle-class-communities-in-2016/818029 "2018-07-16T18:18:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-gained-ground-in-middle-class-communities-in-2016/818029/61 "2018-07-20T10:00:48Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > we are seeing more raises and bonus now, thanks to a good economy. Cite required. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-gained-ground-in-middle-class-communities-in-2016/818029/62 "2018-07-20T15:44:20Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > Cite required. Don’t hold your breath, given that there’s a contrary cite a few posts up. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_lining](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Silver\_lining](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_lining)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-gained-ground-in-middle-class-communities-in-2016/818029/63 "2018-07-21T11:40:27Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > Cite required. Cite given 🙂 Let me know if you want to read more of them. [Fact check: Have 3 million workers received bonuses?](https://www.nbcnews.com/card/fact-check-have-3-million-workers-received-bonuses-n842996) 1-30-18 > [@](#): > > Fact check: Have 3 million workers received bonuses? > “Since we passed tax cuts, roughly 3 million workers have already gotten tax cut bonuses — many of them thousands of dollars per worker," Trump said. > > This appears to be true. Americans for Tax Reform, an advocacy group that fights all tax hikes, posted a list on Tuesday of 286 companies giving bonuses or pay raises because of the tax reform bill. > > “At least 3 million Americans are receiving special tax reform bonuses,” the group writes — likely where Trump is getting his figure. > > While NBC News has not independently verified the group’s count, the figure tracks with USA Today’s reporting that more than 2.5 million workers have received bonuses thus far. **^^^** There you have it, and the source is older. The number getting raises is likely higher. 2.5 million, hardly a small number according to a left-leaning source. And the Economy is trending toward 4% or higher GDP. The fed is finally raising the rate. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-gained-ground-in-middle-class-communities-in-2016/818029/64 "2018-07-21T17:04:08Z")
That was Jan. 30. This is July. That’s it, all you got? > [@](#): > > …Let me know if you want to read more of them… Yeah. Bring. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-gained-ground-in-middle-class-communities-in-2016/818029/65 "2018-07-21T17:04:48Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > There you have it, and the source is older. The number getting raises is likely higher. :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > [July 13, 2018](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/13/business/economy/wages-workers-profits.html) > > Corporate profits have rarely swept up a bigger share of the nation’s wealth, and workers have rarely shared a smaller one. > > The lopsided split is especially pronounced given how low the official unemployment rate has sunk. Throughout the recession and much of its aftermath, when many Americans were grateful to receive a paycheck instead of a pink slip, jobs and raises were in short supply. Now, complaints of labor shortages are as common as tweets. For the first time in a long while, workers have some leverage to push for more. > > Yet many are far from making up all the lost ground. Hourly earnings have moved forward at a crawl, with higher prices giving workers less buying power than they had last summer. Last-minute scheduling, no-poaching and noncompete clauses, and the use of independent contractors are popular tactics that put workers at a disadvantage. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-gained-ground-in-middle-class-communities-in-2016/818029/66 "2018-07-21T18:17:24Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > Okay, an opinion piece. I think the author is wrong to use a broad brush, we are seeing more raises and bonus now, thanks to a good economy. No, we aren’t. > [@Silver\_lining](#): > > But suppose you are a middle-class person who has not seen a real wage increase. Wouldn’t you say this is why the middle class needed Trump’s tax cuts? We had a tax cut; where are the benefits from that one? Are you suggesting we should enact another tax cut, and hope that _this_ time there are some real wage increases? :dubious::rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-gained-ground-in-middle-class-communities-in-2016/818029/67 "2018-07-21T18:25:35Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > Cite given 🙂 Let me know if you want to read more of them. > > [Fact check: Have 3 million workers received bonuses?](https://www.nbcnews.com/card/fact-check-have-3-million-workers-received-bonuses-n842996) 1-30-18 > > **^^^** There you have it, and the source is older. The number getting raises is likely higher. 2.5 million, hardly a small number according to a left-leaning source. And the Economy is trending toward 4% or higher GDP. The fed is finally raising the rate. Let’s be clear: your source is not NBC News, it’s Grover Norquist speaking thru his PAC and looking at this website, his sources are either nonexistent or dubious in most cases. I don’t find your citing of a highly partisan source convincing in the least, especially when the banner on every one of their websites claims > [@](#): > > Thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed by the Republican congress and signed by President Donald Trump, 90 percent of wage earners have higher take-home pay. :dubious: Oh yeah, sure. I believe that. I believe 70% of Americans poop ice cream just like unicorns thanks to Donald Trump’s hairpiece too. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-gained-ground-in-middle-class-communities-in-2016/818029/68 "2018-07-21T19:44:33Z")
FWIW I believe that quite a few companies gave a _one time_ bonus of some small amount to some of their workers. And that workers overall are getting raises that with those one time bonuses are resulting in income roughly keeping up with increases in costs of living. Which is completely consistent with the documented fact that **_real_ wages are flat** , while corporate profits increase significantly and the wealth of those at the very top increases dramatically. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-gained-ground-in-middle-class-communities-in-2016/818029/69 "2018-07-21T19:47:31Z")
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