This article seems to gloss over the fact that wages really haven’t risen with inflation. There may be more job openings than unemployed people, but do those jobs pay a livable wage?
this post was submitted on 26 Dec 2023
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If consumers are being forced into relative poverty because expenses are rising faster than incomes are, that is the definition of a bad economy. Whoever wrote this headline is bought and paid for.
Exactly. Just having job in no way guarantees someone also has a home and food to eat ... which is some serious Black Mirror shit.
If you work 40 hours you shouldn't need a 2nd job to survive. With the wealth America has you shouldn't have to work more than 30
This is part of the issue. My local grocery store pays $15/hour and mostly hires part time to avoid benefits.
1 bedroom apartments start at $1,200/mo. Most places require rent to be no more than about 33% of income. Don’t even get me started on gas/car, insurance, utilities, etc.
There is a huge disconnect.
The economy is NOT in good shape. It is according to metrics they choose to measure, but jobs that pay a living wage are very hard to come by.
To be fair, it hasn't been good by THAT standard in decades probably. It just feels worse right now because there was a rise in wages for a bit there that was totally lost to inflation.
I think wages have kept up with inflation, if I'm reading this chart correctly: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LES1252881600Q
It's normalized by CPI, so a flat line would be no wage growth.
Depends on the the sector, obviously. I'm guessing service sector wages have not kept up with inflation, since it seems like every place is understaffed (they're not offering enough to attract workers). I also don't think it accounts for part-time and gig worker wages.
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The title itself is an act of gaslighting.
I'm gonna take a position for this comment that is a harder line than I usually would take on economic issues: if the consumer is not able to consume at the same rate because prices are going up faster than wages are, then the flow of money is not "good" as conventionally idealized in "the economy."
Thanks for the heads up Buffalox. Edited to finish the thought. Cell tower fuckery made it look like I had lost the comment.
I think it should be clear that what he means is like the famous quote: "Has Anyone Really Been Far Even as Decided to Use Even Go Want to do Look More Like?"
~~Inflation~~ Capitalism has created a dark cloud over how everyday Americans view the economy
A shitty economy that has forced people into paying more for less while corporations lie about the reason for inflation and rightfully soured everyday Americans view of the economy.
The value of the stock market and homes increasing does fuck all for people getting screwed at the grocery store.
I’m fortunate enough to get to benefit from both of those things, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to pretend the economy is great now because theoretical net worth has gone up.
Inflation, shrinkflation, record corporate profits, rising home prices, the billionaire class getting orders of magnitude richer, and my paycheck going up a mere three percent a year... thats sort of why I feel like the economy sucks a bag of dicks.
I'm still doing well. I have a house. I have a car. I have a job.... but in comparison I'm not moving forward. So that is why I feel like the economy sucks.
"the economy" is not your economy or mine. If we made all our money from investments, we'd be doing ok. The growth in our wealth would be outpacing inflation.
Our wealth is tied to wages. As long as we impact someone else's bottom line, we won't be getting ahead, ore even keeping pace, with inflation.
You’re missing a piece here: corporate greed
That is why someone that could theoretically live on illiquid investments would be in a better position, especially since the market has been doing quite well all things considered. However in actual reality we need to buy shit from these corporate oligarchs and they are fleecing us because they can, not because of actual economic pressure.
You’re so close with your final sentence, but you miss the forest for the trees when you say getting ahead or keeping pace with inflation. Inflation is a charged word that encompasses more than just the problem here. Right now the majority of the problem which has actual impact to actual people begins and ends with out of control corporate greed and unrestrained capitalism.
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It’s not about the economy when corporate raises prices because they can instead of because of actual economic pressure.
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The economy has created a dark cloud over how Americans view the economy.
FTFY. Quit with the gaslighting.
The economy is doing great, it's the distribution of it that's the problem. But for some Reason Americans can't seem to create a majority to do something about that. They'd rather keep the 1% happy for some reason.
Healthy distribution of wealth is an inextricable quality of a good economy. In other words, an economy can not be doing good if wealth isn't distributed properly. Your comment only works if "the economy" = GDP, which the sentiment of hundreds of millions of Americans should tell you, isn't the case.
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"Economic models don't account for distribution. The Economy is fine. Eat your dirt."
I'm loving that more people are figuring this out.
it might feel hopeless now but for everyone that learns this we get closer to a tipping point.
"That discontent comes even as a strong labor market, appreciating home values and a stock market rebound has made some positive about their financial situation."
A strong labor market doesn't help you unless you're looking for a job.
Appreciating home values = increased rent for renters. Meanwhile, existing home owners can't sell because of high interest rates on loans.
Stock market rebound doesn't help people not in the stock market.
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is 'the economy' just cover for 'people who own stocks'? are they really ignoring the plight of the common man because some rich peoples stocks are a-ok?
no that can of water did not double in cost to market, but youre going to pay for it like it did.
feels like inflation has pointed out to the common man what a farce 'the economy' is.
It’s because the USA’s corporate owners like to obfuscate shit like that. The economy is doing well if all you’re looking at is GDP, stock market, and how profitable companies are.
However, a quick look at the Consumer Price Index shows how fucked the economy is for the citizens - but you never hear about the US’s really bad CPI score and how inefficient most markets are in the US.
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If "the economy" doesn't translate to the purchasing power of our labor, then it's a useless metric.
... useful to them. LOL
Reminds me of the quote "If you're not making money in your sleep, you will work until you die."
This, I believe, is by design.
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More like shrinkflation/greedflation.
It isn’t about the economy so much as it’s about
the goddamn out of control corporate greed by our oligarchs and their monopolies
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Yet they just set a new record for holiday spending?
Can it be any more obvious that the media is dooming for a Trump win?
I just stopped buying stuff unless I absolutely need it.
"Inflation"
Great, everyone is on the same page now.
Well, yeah.
If you agreed to work hard and sacrifice on the expectation that it would mean you could live with security and dignity and the promise wasn't fulfilled, that's the classic breach of the social contract.
Granted, the Dems (since the 1980s) have been enthusiastic partners in looking the other way when mergers&acquisitions led to monopoly or monopsony, and both parties have happily suppressed wages, and that's the damage done.
Now that the Dems are actually doing yeoman's work re: bolstering unions and raising wage minimums and checking monopoly abuse and price gouging and reining in the banks, OF COURSE the media are going to gamely report that high prices hurt but not mention that they're working on the problems in meaningful ways
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