Corporate profits aren't just rising in absolute terms — they're rising in relative terms. Corporate profits as a percentage of GDP are back up to nearly record highs. The quarterly GDP report released by the U.S. Commerce Department provided detailed data on corporate profits, which stood at $1.5 trillion in 2007, falling sharply to $1.26 trillion and essentially stagnating in 2009. But since the Obama presidency started, the trajectory in quarterly profits has reversed. Quarterly profits (reported at an annualized rate) rose from $1.18 trillion in the second quarter of 2009 to $1.42 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2009 and $1.64 trillion in the second quarter of 2010. In the second quarter of 2010, corporate profits were up 39.2 percent from the year-before quarter. Some sectors are benefiting from government policy. Banks are profiting from low interest rates and the ongoing federal subsidies and guarantees. Even as the industry protests the "demonization" and tough regulation, banks just reported their best quarter results in three years, according to the FDIC. CEOs, who have responded quite well to the challenges of the economy and regulation, are still making record profits. Please stop with the anti-government, anti-Obama administration rhetoric about how they're out of touch with corporate concerns. You're doing quite well, especially compared with millions of Americans. The chronic whining is disingenuous at best and shows just how out of touch corporate CEOs are with the rest of the country at worst.
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