Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Financial anxiety: The alarming side effect of inflation

bbc.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 107 posts

Re: Financial anxiety: The alarming side effect of inflation

#71

Post by futureamish »

amjnsx wrote: post #24
wing-_-nuts wrote: post #16

I used to have a lot of financial anxiety when I was younger. These days I thought I was pretty well set but the increase in prices for everything has been kind of a wake up call, especially housing! Kind of shocking when SFH's in my southern suburb went from costing ~ 400k in 2017 to ~ 800k now. What blows me away is that it appears to have no bearing to what people can actually afford? I make multiples of the local…

Imo because the rich get richer, they inevitably need to store that wealth somewhere. Cash would be stupid because inflation, so they can buy property over market rates as a “safe haven”

[flagged]

Re: Financial anxiety: The alarming side effect of inflation

#72

Post by WarOnPrivacy »

crvdgc wrote: post #54
michaelteter wrote: post #4

Financial anxiety: Media - the primary instigator It's one thing to feel financially tight. It's another thing to have endless news articles and publications and posts warning of how bad the global economy is and how inflation is running out of control. Not only does this constant negative message directly cause stress on the viewers, but it can cause fear in business which can lead to "precautionary" retractions...…

It's not as applicative in this case, at least for the UK. As a software developer based in the UK, the inflation mentioned in the article is felt very deeply by myself. The article cited 7.2% as the price inflation rate, which is close to the rate of 7.6% calculated by the Office for National Statistics based on my household spending[1] and is consistent with my personal experience. On top of that, the UK Treasury a…

> The article cited 7.2% as the price inflation rate, which is close to the rate of 7.6% calculated by the Office for National Statistics based on my household spending[1] and is consistent with my personal experience.

Do you know if those figures factor in non-consumables like housing and insurance?

Asking because many US areas are seeing 20-100% jumps (or higher), year over year over year. When your largest expenses skyrocket, single digit increase stats don't reflect reality well.

Re: Financial anxiety: The alarming side effect of inflation

#73

Post by titzer »

andrewmutz wrote: post #27
gjsman-1000 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't shoot the messenger. If anything, inflation and shrinkflation's effects on the average American are, in my opinion, understated; and Thomas Jefferson (if you've ever read his comments about inflation) would've been calling for hangings. Also, worth remembering, the median American income is $40,480 /yr., while median household is $74,580 /yr. Half of Americans make less than that per year. 20th percentile incom…

In inflation-adjusted terms, the lowest income americans have done the best over the last few years, with their wages rising 9%: https://www.epi.org/publication/swa-wages-2022/ > Between 2019 and 2022, hourly wage growth was strongest at the bottom of the wage distribution. The 10th-percentile real hourly wage grew 9.0% over the three-year period. When we look across the wage distribution, we see wage growth declinin…

Painfully tonedeaf comment. If you're at poverty level, not making ends meet, and inflation is 30% and your wage growth is 9%, you are falling behind. If you are above "making ends meet" and your income growth is only 3% but you are still "making ends meet", things are fine for you.

Inflation is absolutely decimating the lower half of the country. Your numbers are sophistry.

Re: Financial anxiety: The alarming side effect of inflation

#74

Post by WarOnPrivacy »

diogenes4 wrote: post #65
michaelteter wrote: post #4

Financial anxiety: Media - the primary instigator It's one thing to feel financially tight. It's another thing to have endless news articles and publications and posts warning of how bad the global economy is and how inflation is running out of control. Not only does this constant negative message directly cause stress on the viewers, but it can cause fear in business which can lead to "precautionary" retractions...…

> Financial anxiety: Media - the primary instigator In my experience it's "how will i pay for rent and food the next two months".

Yep. Then toss in widespread housing insecurity. I've got an aging sister likely facing homelessness.

Re: Financial anxiety: The alarming side effect of inflation

#75

Post by titzer »

eatsyourtacos wrote: post #48
StuntPope wrote: post #14

They talk about inflation like it comes from a comet out of deep space. Not one mention that inflation is caused by the government and central banks expanding the money supply.

>Not one mention that inflation is caused by the government and central banks expanding the money supply. The recent inflation is more because of unfettered capitalism. Supply chain issues? Ok let's just keep on raising prices as much as we can. Things back under control? Ok, well we are still going to claim we have issues and just keep on raising prices. Workers want more money? Ok instead of us shareholders taking…

> Not one mention that inflation is caused by the government and central banks expanding the money supply.

> Prices are being driven the fuck up because of greed and income divide.

Maybe...it's both? Could it actually be that the government and central banks collude to prop up the housing and stock markets and print money (through debt creation) in order to make sure that the upper quintile keeps getting paid and the reset squabble about it?

Re: Financial anxiety: The alarming side effect of inflation

#76

Post by nradov »

ok_dad wrote: post #63
vikingerik wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Laying off then hiring should be a positive. Presumably the laid-off were your worst talent and workers, while the new hires are at least randomly distributed and should be selected towards the upper end of the talent range.

Again, that’s not how it works. You don’t lay off bad employees, you lay off randomly or lay off teams you no longer need or want. Layoffs are an opex reduction exercise, not a house cleaning.

That's not always true. Some layoffs cut entire organizational units regardless of individual performance. Others cut a certain percentage across the board (sometimes with exceptions for strategic growth areas). The CEO might tell every manager to cut 10%, and obviously they're going to take that chance to eliminate their worst performers.

Re: Financial anxiety: The alarming side effect of inflation

#77

Post by 2devnull »

michaelteter wrote: post #4

Financial anxiety: Media - the primary instigator It's one thing to feel financially tight. It's another thing to have endless news articles and publications and posts warning of how bad the global economy is and how inflation is running out of control. Not only does this constant negative message directly cause stress on the viewers, but it can cause fear in business which can lead to "precautionary" retractions...…

You are right, except in this instance there is very objective proof that inflation and homelessness are problems that have gotten worse recently and are having widespread impacts. If the media choose not to cover this, because of whatever reasons they have (maybe they worry about frightening the public ?) then it will not be addressed politically. They are called the 4th estate for a reason. They determine what political discussions are allowed. Inflation is an important issue for lower income and middle class workers.

Re: Financial anxiety: The alarming side effect of inflation

#78

Post by makeitdouble »

> Often, people are reluctant to engage with support services and instead shut down, which can hinder long-term financial planning and wealth accumulation, particularly if the cause of the anxiety is driven by high debts," says Vyas-Lee. And, she adds, "financial anxiety rarely resolves by itself, so professional support can be genuinely transformational for those who do step forward".

I'm genuinely curious about that professional help.

A this point it seems the general advice is "just accept to be poor", which doesn't seem to go in line with wealth accumulation over time.

Re: Financial anxiety: The alarming side effect of inflation

#79

Post by andrewmutz »

titzer wrote: post #73
andrewmutz wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In inflation-adjusted terms, the lowest income americans have done the best over the last few years, with their wages rising 9%: https://www.epi.org/publication/swa-wages-2022/ > Between 2019 and 2022, hourly wage growth was strongest at the bottom of the wage distribution. The 10th-percentile real hourly wage grew 9.0% over the three-year period. When we look across the wage distribution, we see wage growth declinin…

Painfully tonedeaf comment. If you're at poverty level, not making ends meet, and inflation is 30% and your wage growth is 9%, you are falling behind. If you are above "making ends meet" and your income growth is only 3% but you are still "making ends meet", things are fine for you. Inflation is absolutely decimating the lower half of the country. Your numbers are sophistry.

It's a 9% increase after adjusting for inflation. Actual wages increased by 9 plus the inflation rate.

Re: Financial anxiety: The alarming side effect of inflation

#80

Post by titzer »

andrewmutz wrote: post #79
titzer wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Painfully tonedeaf comment. If you're at poverty level, not making ends meet, and inflation is 30% and your wage growth is 9%, you are falling behind. If you are above "making ends meet" and your income growth is only 3% but you are still "making ends meet", things are fine for you. Inflation is absolutely decimating the lower half of the country. Your numbers are sophistry.

It's a 9% increase after adjusting for inflation. Actual wages increased by 9 plus the inflation rate.

100% don't believe it. And you missed the overall conclusion from your own link:

> While our analysis finds fast wage growth at the 10th percentile and wage compression within the bottom 90% of the wage distribution, highly unequal wage growth has led the very top to amass a greater share of the overall earnings distribution, contributing to worsening inequality.

Post reply on HN