Did we hit bottom yet?

Some say economy is showing signs of finally bottoming out. 
New 2011 census data offer some hope for recovery.
Looks like more young adults are leaving their parents' homes to go to college or the job market. More young adults staying in school will increase their potential earnings when the job market bounces back.

Unemployment fell modestly from 9.6 percent to 8.9 percent although many who do not have a job are not counted because they simply gave up looking for work therefore are not included in this number. Some have resolved to taking a lower paying job than they had before the recession. Jobless rate remains high.

Home ownership dropped for a fifth straight year to 64.6 percent, the lowest in more than a decade.
More homes were sold last month, however 18% of buyers walk away from signed purchase agreements.
Five years after the housing bust, a leveling off could mark an end to the longest economic decline since the second World War.


Official poverty rate for 2011 remained at 15 percent. A record 46.2 million people. Wow! 
However, the government formula does not account for noncash aid as food stamps.
The numbers show that poverty is showing signs of  slowing down but food stamp use continues to increase. More Americans than ever are turning to food stamps. About 14.9 million, or 13 percent of households, received food stamps, the highest level on record. 
1 in 8 families is getting government aid led by Oregon at 18.9 percent, nearly 1 in 5.

Compared to the world economy, we are doing better than many other countries. We may see signs of a "fragile recovery" with the economy still at risk of falling back into recession, depending in part on who is elected president and if Congress averts a "fiscal cliff" of deep government spending cuts and higher taxes in January. 

In conclusion, I don't think we are out of the woods yet but we can be hopeful. We must!
Most importantly, have the power to determain which way the country goes. We can do this by the simple act of VOTING!
It is up to us to keep this country the greatest country in the world.