Why Americans Are So Down on a Strong Economy - WSJ (gallon, insurance)
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I get it that you are always talking about Biden, no matter that the topic is, but this thread is not about him.
That's the thing. Wages are currently growing faster than inflation, but people are still feeling pessimistic. That's exactly what the article is about. IMO the media plays a huge part in it.
Wages are only up 12.8% since 2021... 0.4% behind inflation.
Sorry to hear about your account shrinkage and rising credit card balance. Most of us have had better success.
Consider food stamps.
And there's the problem. The economy is in the crapper for most folks, but limousine liberals think everything is fine as long as the price of Grey Poupon is stable. Your post literally demonstrates the disconnect Dems have with reality.
And there's the problem. The economy is in the crapper for most folks, but limousine liberals think everything is fine as long as the price of Grey Poupon is stable. Your post literally demonstrates the disconnect Dems have with reality.
I can hear 'let them eat cake!' echoing in the halls of the whitehouse now.
My wife and I are doing much better financially, right now, than anytime in our marriage of 18 years. Investment returns, debt to income ratio, disposable income levels, etc...all better now than anytime else. Now, that is 100% because of our decisions in 2023 to sell our house, move to a cheaper CoL area, invest our profits, etc. Nothing to do with Biden, the economy (maybe the investment returns, but my CFA could speak better on that), etc.
But, we do notice that some items in our grocery bill are kinda nutty, even with my wife being the Jedi Master of grocery bargain hunting. Small annoyance though, life is generally grand. We are still enjoying having restaurants where meals are $25 for the two of us and we get so much food we can't even finish what's in front of us.
Now that said, my mother-in-law on her fixed income, my sisters-in-law and their families (3 kids in one, 2 kids in the other) on more modest salaries and investment portfolios that stem from always living in this smaller town? Yeah, they aren't doing better in today's economy, they are doing worse, without having changed any of their own behaviors over the last few years. Moms know where the grocery bills are getting rough. Grandmas on fixed incomes know where the economy is getting tighter. And the chit chat in Smalltown, OH isn't about how great everyone's portfolios are doing, but how everything in our once cheap to live small town is now getting more expensive.
People notice when they were getting 16 oz of something for $5, and now get 14 oz for the same $5. People notice when the cheap dinner they were paying $15 for now costs $22. The list of things people notice goes on and on and on.
It isn't pessimism. It's pattern recognition plus realism.
You can tell my town of 7,000 to stop believing their lying eyes, but they'll keep seeing the world for what it is.
Great post.
Got fast food Chinese food at the mall last weekend to celebrate my daughter's birthday (don't ask me why, but this what she wanted). 5 of us, with decent food, but certainly not top of the line. $72 total. A few years ago this would have been $45. Incidentally that brings to mind something else: there are a huge numbers of vacancies in the food court as compared to a few years ago, and the choices were limited. Is that a sign of a strong economy?
HOTELS: I'm taking a trip out west. Hotels that used to be around $150 a night a couple years ago are now $250 a night, forcing me to go to airbnb to save money (and the savings will be substantial)
SUPER BOWL TICKETS: cheapest seats are $5,500. lol
Obviously some areas like sports/concert tickets, restaurants/dining out, hotels have seen more inflation than have other areas --- but inflation is running a lot higher than the leftists want to admit.
Last edited by BeerGeek40; 02-07-2024 at 08:53 AM..
Probably because for many, what they see in their daily struggles isn't as positive as what the reports are saying.
Sure, the market has been doing well, and home values are going up. For those that are in long term investments, or don't plan on selling does this really matter much when it comes time to pay the monthly bills ?
Natural gas is up
Gas/diesel fluctuates up and down
Electricity is up
Healthcare is up
House hold goods are up
Vehicle prices are up
Auto insurance is up
Home insurance is up
And while the claim is wages have risen to over come this, in reality, wages have only risen for 57% of those in the workforce. With roughly 130 million people in the full time workforce, 43% of these people are still struggling to over come the rising price of pretty much everything, and that is a pretty large number of people / families.
the whole point of the MSN article was to give Biden credit for a strong economy
Its Wall Street Journal article, and WSJ is a RW biased source. Its not about Bidenl. I get it that people insist that things are bad out of fear of Biden getting credit for things being ok, but its not about Biden.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Volobjectitarian
Anecdotal argument incoming...
My wife and I are doing much better financially, right now, than anytime in our marriage of 18 years. Investment returns, debt to income ratio, disposable income levels, etc...all better now than anytime else. Now, that is 100% because of our decisions in 2023 to sell our house, move to a cheaper CoL area, invest our profits, etc. Nothing to do with Biden, the economy (maybe the investment returns, but my CFA could speak better on that), etc.
You can tell my town of 7,000 to stop believing their lying eyes, but they'll keep seeing the world for what it is.
What the article is saying is that people focus on the negative, even in abundance of positive things. They go on about the price of eggs being $1.00 higher while their 401K has gone up $200 000. At this point I could also sell mu house and put my money on CDs, and live on the interest, because CDs are actually paying pretty good rates at this time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultor
Wages are only up 12.8% since 2021... 0.4% behind inflation.
0.4% and gaining, but if you ask people they only see the inflation part, not the wage gain part, and that's the whole point.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Finn_Jarber
This is my personal observation as well. It doesn't matter what how strong the economic indicators are, or how well individuals are doing, because people are still mired in pessimism and negativity. Just read the commentary on this social media site. The below line in the article seems to explain that its not about the economy, but about the division we see in the US, and it seems we are looking at that getting far worse after Nov 20.
"They’re not feeling one country. They’re feeling a divisive, divided United States of America.”
United we stand, divided we fall. So true, which is why I was really hoping for Haley to win, but it doesn't seem like its going to happen.
Other reasons for the negativity and pessimism? Open FOX, and watch for 30 mins, and you'll come out thinking the world is about to end. You'll see 100% negative reporting. They have a story to sell, and the story is "everything sucks".
Why Americans Are So Down on a Strong Economy - Wall Street Journal https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mark...b98bf548&ei=36
Clayton Wiles, a truck driver in North Carolina, earns about 20% more than three years ago. Kristine Funck, a nurse in Ohio, has won steady pay raises, built retirement savings and owns her home. Alfredo Arguello, who opened a restaurant outside Nashville when the pandemic hit, now owns a second one and employs close to 50 people.
But ask any of them about the state of the American economy, and the same gloominess surfaces. “Unstable” is how Arguello describes it. Said Funck: “Even though I’m OK right now, there’s a sense it could all go away in a second.”
There’s a striking disconnect between the widely shared pessimism among Americans and measures that show the economy is actually robust. Consumers are spending briskly—behavior that suggests optimism, not retrenchment. Inflation has tempered. Unemployment has been below 4% for 24 straight months, the longest such stretch since the 1960s.
The WSJ kind of danced around this, without saying it. Many in the US don't want the economy to be doing well right now, because their guy isn't in charge.
So they won't acknowledge it.
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