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Ahh yes, I have "white male privilege". You've cracked the code. Except in my industry that is actually a negative and reduces your chances of making it to career jobs.
Being from CA I definitely expected that to come from you. At least the truth is out. Bye.
You assumed that your privilege is race. It may be, but your privilege may also be the absence of a handicap. Your privilege may also be involved parents. It can be all sorts of things and it doesn't mean you should feel badly about having it, but simply a realization that some others don't have them. You are obviously not of the mindset that outside circumstances have played a large role in your own success, and you are delusional enough to believe it is all you. A lot of it is the individual. Like you, I moved all around, taking crap jobs for experience while moving up, and continually furthering my education.
But like I said, some people aren't given those opportunities and others haven't been taught why that sacrifice is important. Simply have real empathy for others. I don't see what's so offensive about a humbling philosophy like that.
Regardless if how good the economy may be overall, there will always be those that feel “left out†for one reason or another. They are likely to be vocal about it, especially on forums like this one. Very few go online to start a post saying how well things are going for them. Having suffered a huge financial hit in the recession, things started to turn around in 2010 and have gotten better every year since. For us the economy now is the best it’s been in many years, same for our family and friends. After a slowdown in home sales over the winter, they are now selling in a few days again, especially in the lower priced $700,00 range, but that’s here. I’m sure someone elsewhere in the country will talk about dying malls and homes sitting empty.
To some people the phrase, "the economy," brings to mind the latest stats from the BLS, or the news media's howls of delight over the stock market performance numbers, but in reality, "the economy" is mostly viewed through a very personal lens by the masses. And in the current job market things are looking up--if you are educated and prepared to take advantage of it. The housing market is still hot, and you can buy a nice home---if you have the money and credit. Wages have risen--for some, but not all. If hard work was the path to wealth and success, then all hard workers would be prospering, but that isn't the reality is it?
The first clue as to why some seem to be a bit disillusioned by their plight, as opposed to that of the majority, could very well be revealed in that part of your post regarding home sales, which states, "After a slowdown in home sales over the winter, they are now selling in a few days again, especially in the lower priced $700,00 range." I don't know that those who "feel" left out aren't correct in their assessment of "the economy" and how it doesn't work too well for them.
I'm retired and doing well, but that doesn't mean I can't understand the plight of those who have become economically marginalized, and living in a very insecure situation with regard to housing, employment, furthering their education, or feeding their families. America is a great country for those who, for one reason or another, have been fortunate enough to prosper here. Not taking away from those who have worked hard to obtain that status, but millions have worked very hard every day with little to show for it. And yes they may be vocal about the notion of $700.000 homes being in the "lower priced" range..
They live and sleep in the numerous run down trailer parks, their cars, the couches of friends, or like one individual in Battle Ground Wa., living in a tent in the woods, behind the Walmart he worked in. At the very least, we should acknowledge the fact of a dire poverty in America, some of the trailer parks and tent cities are truly equal to the poverty living conditions in India or the slums of Brazil, and all are part of "the economy" in our country. So, the truth is that America does not have a truly inclusive path to prosperity. And that means we aren't the equal opportunity nation we are made out to be. And that also means that we really don't have an economy that resembles a monolithic construct which spreads itself over the landscape bringing prosperity to all..Or, it could be that many people simply, "feel left out."
I'm very perplexed as to why I STILL hear all these people say the economy is still bad, just like they said not long after 2008 all the way to 2014.
Why?
-Unemployment is at a nearly 5 decade low.
-3% GDP growth +/-
-All time low African American and Hispanic unemployment rate.
-Consumer confidence at an all time high
-Stock market at an all time high
-Wager keeping up with inflation
-Biggest wage gains among low-income people.
And on and on, and on...............
So WHY do I keep hearing people say its a struggle in "this" economy?
In my particular industry, there is a worker SHORTAGE and companies are betting for qualified applicants. Just recently, I was given a job offer literally 2 minutes after finishing the interview. This is just one of many examples.
So what gives? Why do I keep hearing so many people give the impression the economy is still bad like it was 2008-2014?
Depends highly on if you are part of an urban center / metro or you're still in rural BFE that hasn't quite shared in the same growth, but always seems to be hit the hardest when things fall apart.
This go-round, it seems that a lot of large employers are "centralizing" and pulling jobs IN to their headquarters, instead of having several regional "hubs".
Example: AT&T used to have several "hubs", almost independent powerhouses for many of their operations: El Segundo, CA; Bothell, WA; and Atlanta, GA. Further, in each mid-sized city, you can almost count on some sort of multistory office building bearing their logo: Raleigh, Charlotte, Greenville, Columbia, Charleston, Marietta... many more.
Now, everything is being brought into Dallas HQ. Prices are driven up, up, up, and all of a sudden, their salary doesn't buy what they thought it did.
I keep having to tell myself that inflation ALONE means what was once a $60k salary when I graduated high school equates to a $90k salary today! That's 13 short years ago.
How many years does it take to save enough to buy a house?
The escalation in the inflation-adjusted price of housing is real, but your ire is more properly focused on local, state and federal regulators who have actively:
(a) Restricted supply of housing by throwing up all manner of regulatory and statutory roadblocks to housing developers who wish to acquire land and build housing on it
(b) Driven up the cost of manufacturing housing by throwing up all manner of regulatory and statutory requirements that individual people don't wish to buy and can't afford to pay for
That is, your government did this to you, and it has nothing to do with the health of the economy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nuala
How many years does it take to save enough to buy a car outright?
The inflation-adjusted price of automobiles has indeed gone way up, but your ire is more properly focused on the federal government and to a lesser extent California, not the economy.
Statutory and regulatory requirements mean inexpensive cars, the equivalent a mid-1960s Beetle, cannot be manufactured or sold in the USA. Modern cars are empirically safer and cleaner, but that does not come for free: it costs us money.
(a) Modern modern safety components such as 5-mph bumpers, as many as 18 collision-triggered air bags, back-up cameras, TPMS tire inflation sensors and the like are not free - not to mention adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assistance, collision-avoidance emergency braking systems, and the like.
(b) Modern emission control systems such as a electronic fuel injection oxygen and other sensors, catalytic converters and the like are expensive. That mid-1960s Beetle had none of them.
(c) Federal fuel efficiency requirements have driven the adoption of ever-more-expensive and ever-less-effective methods of eking out a fraction of 1 MPG of incremental fuel efficiency, including auto-stop/start systems (which drive up the manufacturing cost via extra-beefy batteries and starter motors), cylinder-deactivation, exotic lighter-weight construction materials, low-rolling-resistance tires, advanced aerodymaics and the like cost money. Lots of money.
Your government did this to you at the encouragement of tree-huggers. This has nothing to do with the economy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nuala
How many years (in USA) does it take to pay off a student loan?
Higher education is much more expensive, adjusted for inflation. Once again, your ire should be directed at the Federal Government.
The Federal Government has foisted all manner of statutory and regulatory mandates on Higher Education, driving up its price precipitously. Title IX drives up the cost of Higher Ed by forcing universities to spend ever-more-money on sports programs that few want and even fewer are willing to pay for. Regulatory burdens enacted by the Fed have driven universities to hire legions of bureaucrats and administrators who seem to do nothing but fill out paperwork to send to the Departments of Education and Labor, respectively, who in turn feed this into the sausage-factory of yet more regulatory manufacturing. Well, the administrators also take up parking spaces, so there's that.
As people demand relief from the high cost, the Feds respond by pouring more gasoline on the fire: they extend more federally insured student loans and provide more scholarship money, thereby allowing Universities to raise tuition willy-nilly.
Just as with the other examples you cite, your government did this to you. Well-meaning politicians and mandarins decided they new better than you what is best for your welfare, mandated it, and of course make you pay for it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nuala
Maybe that's why?
Clearly, the unwashed masses say the economy isn't great because things such as housing, automobiles and higher education have escalated in price beyond reason (I'm surprised you didn't toss in medical care). Yet your examples have nothing to do with the economy.
Anyone who passed Econ 101 knows the cause of the above economic issues lies squarely and solely with governmental bureaucrats mau-mauing into submission otherwise productive members of society in various market segments.
The solution, of course, is to get the legislative, administrative, and judicial branches of government to realize they hurt us more than help us. We must throw out the bums. It doesn't matter who your local and state elected representatives are - vote against them. Throw out the bums.
...I wouldn't understand the logic behind paying for a car with cash when you could have made far more investing it yourself while paying the 1.9% interest on the car loan ...
What you are pointing out is the use of leverage. But the use of leverage is not merely a decision to be arrived at based solely upon simple mathematics as you suggest. It also involves risk tolerance and optimal asset allocation so as to be on the Pareto Efficient Frontier.
I dunno. Basically, the economy is running on all cylinders right now. If you're having a hard time finding work then either a) you need to acquire some new skills or b) move to a different market.
We have a ginormous gap between rich and poor, and college, one of the best ways to close that gap, has become economically unfeasible.
You assume closing the gap is a good thing. I don't see it that way. The existence of extraordinary rewards in return for extraordinary accomplishment is a great thing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JrzDefector
I am not optimistic for future generations unless we make some major changes.
I am not so pessimistic as you are, but I agree we need to make fundamental changes in this country to address some of the things you mention plus many others, including the way we fund medical care, higher education, retirement, housing, transportation and the like.
The most important thing we can do, it seems to me, is vote out the incumbents. Regardless if your personal view is left, right or centrist, we need to get rid of entrenched politicians and bureaucrats at all levels. Vote the bums out.
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