When it comes to economic news, we’ve had so much winning that we’ve gotten tired of winning, or at any rate blasé about it. Last week, we got another terrific employment report — job growth for 39 straight months — and it feels as if hardly anyone noticed. In particular, it’s not clear whether the good news will dent the still widespread but false narrative that President Biden is presiding over a bad economy.
Start with the facts: Job creation under Biden has been truly amazing, especially when you recall all those confident but wrong predictions of recession. Four years ago, the economy was body-slammed by the Covid-19 pandemic, but we have more than recovered. Four years after the start of the 2007-9 recession, total employment was still down by more than five million; now it’s up by almost six million. The unemployment rate has been below 4 percent for 26 months, the longest streak since the 1960s.
Inflation did surge in 2021-22, although this surge has mostly subsided. But most workers’ earnings are up in real terms. Over the past four years, wages of nonsupervisory workers, who account for more than 80 percent of private employment, are up by about 24 percent, while consumer prices are up less, around 20 percent.
Why, then, are so many Americans still telling pollsters that the economy is in bad shape?More often than not, anyone who argues that we’re in a “vibecession,” in which public perceptions are at odds with economic reality, gets tagged as an elitist, out of touch with peop…
Read more@ISIDEWITH2mos2MO
If a country's economy is thriving but the public feels otherwise, does the perception or the reality have a greater impact on societal well-being?
@9LFW9KK2mos2MO
I feel that the perception will have a greater impact because people will blind themselves to what is actually happening with what they believe is right/happening.
@9LFVGKQ2mos2MO
The understanding if a economy is thriving is important. Reality is the only issue. In a thriving ecoomy the people should feel the change.
@9LFV3XW2mos2MO
The news should be truthful about everything and anything going on regardless of the circumstances
@9LFTBFF2mos2MO
The reality would have a larger impact on societal well being
@ISIDEWITH2mos2MO
Can an economy be considered truly successful if a significant portion of its population believes it to be failing?
@9LFYWXP2mos2MO
I think that if people feel the economy isn't thriving then it's not thriving. The people decide.
@9LFYVZT2mos2MO
A lot of people are struggling financially and especially the government itself which leads me to believe the economy is failing and I am sure I am not the only one either.
@9LFWSDZ2mos2MO
I think that the people who have to deal with feeling poor or living in poverty should never be the majority. People in the market that recently joined should get benefits aswell as people who are more experienced. The only problem is that the people right now need help more than the elders who have accomplished things before them.
@9LFWJ2FConstitution2mos2MO
I think that there could be so much more help for poor people, everything costs so much, and no job pays a lot. It's hard to live as a human and I think that's disgusting.
@ISIDEWITH2mos2MO
How do personal experiences and media influence shape our views on the economy, regardless of what the statistics say?
@9LHM5FV2mos2MO
I feel like the news topic relates a lot to the younger generations
@9LFX6D82mos2MO
I think it has a very big impact
@9LFW9MB2mos2MO
i believe that the things you go through and are conditioned with shape the person whom you strive to become
@9LFW65CRepublican2mos2MO
Too many people take media influencers at face value and do no due diligence to determine right, wrong, or indifferent before formulating opinions that influence their voting rights.
@IndependenceGnuSocialist2mos2MO
I'll venture my own anecdotal hypothesis: the problem is not Americans' objective levels of income or wealth, but their subjective sense that the future is no longer hopeful. Put a different way, that the rug has been pulled out from under the promise of the American dream.
In an absolute sense, my household is much better off than we were in 2020 (mostly on the back of new jobs). We are not struggling in any sense of the word. But we also feel that our goals have suddenly become much, much harder to achieve.
Why? Housing costs, more than anything. Over the same time period that our… Read more
@ResolvedElect0ralGreen2mos2MO
It’s also a little awkward when “progressives” lurch from a doom and gloom message about all the problems in society they are trying to mobilize around to a new message of cheerleading for the status quo. It feels very forced and contrived, especially in an election year.
The default progressive posture must be dour dissatisfaction and outrage at the ravages of capitalism, the obscene inequality and the non-PC jokes. So you can’t just switch on the jovial Pollyanna at a moments notice.
@ShyGovernmentDemocrat2mos2MO
This is the best comment here. You've precisely nailed the cause of the apparent conundrum of why so few are particularly enthusiastic about this ostensibly great economy.
@CulturedSnailRepublican2mos2MO
"The typical American household needs to spend $445 per month more to purchase the same goods and services as a year ago, given the 8.2% inflation rate in September. This isn’t going to sit well with the Fed, and the September CPI isn’t good news for financial markets or the broader economy. Markets are pricing in a terminal fed funds rate of 4.9%. Energy weighed on inflation."
@MercifulD3m0cr4cyPatriot2mos2MO
The economy is unstoppable, also unless the Fed cuts rates 825 times, we’re **** ed
@CulturedSnailRepublican2mos2MO
It is unstoppable as it heads towards hyper inflation.
@OryxMikeyDemocrat2mos2MO
I am voting for Biden, but I'm still down on the economy. Mostly because I can't find a job that's not food service/retail. I have a master's degree and plenty of experience. It's just a rough market out there for people who aren't superstars in their field. I'm also old enough now (45) to be up against ageism as well. And my ARM adjusts in a few years, so I won't be able to afford my house anymore, even if I do manage to find white collar work. Even though I love where I live, I'll have to move somewhere cheaper, and I'm already bummed about leaving my social support behind. Also I have kids going to college soon, and let's not talk about those costs.
But okay, I'm sure it's just conservative brainwashing from all that Fox News I don't watch. Good to know, thanks.
@ButterflySkylarDemocrat2mos2MO
Your experience highlights the hollowing out of the middle class and unaffordability of mid to upper class life in America, but it’s important to trace it back to Republicans and Ronald Reagan somehow. Voicing these kind of issues right now just sounds like you don’t think Biden is an excellent candidate that can fix every problem. It risks giving fodder to the narratives of the opposition as well. It’s important to always filter our experiences through a partisan lens before sharing.
@PanickyTheRightSocialist2mos2MO
I don't know why it's so hard for wealthy people to understand this but let me try.
For the working poor and middle class, all of these GDP numbers, employment numbers, stock market numbers etc. don't matter.
What does matter to folks of limited income is the fact that food is insanely expensive right now. Folks with a lot of discretionary income don't notice that. Folks without a lot of discretionary income do notice that.
Stop telling people who are struggling to pay their bills that everything's great. It may be for you, but it's not for them.
@Ind3p3ndentGrizzlyDemocrat2mos2MO
when people making $200K (95th percentile) claim that they are struggling "middle class" folks like the rest of us, that should say something. I can't fathom how the median household ($75K) can afford to have children. I earn more than that as a single guy and can barely support myself with a reasonably optimistic outlook.
@EggsCarolineDemocrat2mos2MO
As a 30-something year old, to me the answer is clear: housing. Sure wages are up, but not nearly as up as housing costs. To ask a progressive like me to "celebrate the current economy" seems really out of touch. My generation can't seem to get ahead, between predatory student loan debt, mounting housing costs, and even higher mortgages because of high interest rates. Neither party is addressing this.
@YearningQuailGreen2mos2MO
actually Biden has done a lot to reduce student debt as he did this very day - one of several measures he has taken since the Republican majority of the Supreme Court killed his first student debt plan. Interest rates are the purview of the Fed. They raised them to address inflation. They will lower them later this year according to the Fed Chair Jay Powell.
@ISIDEWITH2mos2MO
@ISIDEWITH2mos2MO
@MadParrotTranshumanist2mos2MO
Just the other day, the NY Times ran an article about how room, board, and tuition at many universities will exceed $90,000 this fall, and may soon breach the $100,000 barrier at some of them. The only people who will be able afford this are lower-income families who qualify for tuition breaks or the very wealthy. The majority of Americans - the middle class and moderately affluent - are getting slammed.
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