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But is the majority of the population thriving? It is very misleading (at best) to say the economy is strong when a good chunk of the population live paycheck to paycheck. A handful of companies are thriving, but barely any of its employees.
Which country is that true of?
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Also, ask the poor how satisfied they are with the GDP.
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Earlier quoted context omitted.
> a good chunk of the population live paycheck to paycheck. Is that not true in other economies? Was that not true at some (mythical?) point in the past? What number, specifically, would you like to see before you're willing to declare "The Economy is Good"? Basically the point you made is an example of the Economics of Vibes. It's non-falsifiable and allows you to justify any position you want. We're about to start…
Family needs to make $107,700 a year to own a home. Apartment in a moderate-cost area is about $70,000-$100,000/year. Median salary in the US is $59,300 What considered poverty level in the US for: 1 person: $15,060 2 people: $20,440 3 people: $25,820 4 people: $31,200 According to recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau, around 50% of Americans make $70,000 or more annually. That means about 50% of the US can not af…
The problem is that moderate cost area is of now has a lot better quality of life, with plenty of things in short driving distances, compared to what it was back when housing was "affordable".
You can go browse Zillow across US and find ~100k houses, which even at higher interest rates are affordable on a $60k household salary. Of course the quality of life is going to be much worse than what you normally know, but it would be similar to what your grandparents had when they bought the house.
I've never known more homeless people before in my life in America, seems like its only the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer and less healthy.
But is the majority of the population thriving? It is very misleading (at best) to say the economy is strong when a good chunk of the population live paycheck to paycheck. A handful of companies are thriving, but barely any of its employees.
> But is the majority of the population thriving? Looking at the numbers: low unemployment, strong consumer spending, average income increasing at a rate higher than inflation, I'd say the majority is doing better than most years. They might not feel that way though, and we've been in a continuous vibes-cession since COVID.
> low unemployment
In an economy where you can easily deliver packages or drive uber, there will always be close to zero unemployment. This number stopped making sense a few years ago.
> strong consumer spending
In a high inflation environment, one has to consume "strongly" just to maintain the same standards of living.
> average income increasing at a rate higher than inflation
If you underreport inflation, then the average income will increase faster. But even if not, average is not what you and I receive, and it is determined by some people making lots of money while others have stagnating salaries.
> majority is doing better than most years
You cannot prove this from the above points. Average income doesn't mean that the majority is doing better. Something called inequality will not allow that to happen.
> They might not feel that way though
That is pop psychology at its worst. Nobody cares about feelings, you just need to look at the numbers in a critical way.
I've never known more homeless people before in my life in America, seems like its only the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer and less healthy.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/555795/estimated-number-...
But is the majority of the population thriving? It is very misleading (at best) to say the economy is strong when a good chunk of the population live paycheck to paycheck. A handful of companies are thriving, but barely any of its employees.
By every metric, the economy is strong.
A large portion of the households living "paycheck to paycheck" are either doing so by choice or don't understand what the term means and are ignoring things like retirement savings when they make that statement.
Tech is the problem. The internet is global (or perhaps two or three regions), and winner takes all - so global value creation is being experienced everywhere, but being monetised in the US stock market. Take tech out of the equation and the US is pretty much on par with EU, and China and India are just burning the coal for everyone else.
> Tech is the problem. The internet is global (or perhaps two or three regions), and winner takes all - so global value creation is being experienced everywhere, but being monetised in the US stock market. I don't really understand what you mean. While their reach is global, it's largely American companies that are creating the tech value, no?
China was wise to this trick already, which is why they've shielded themselves from the very beginning. Most countries haven't learned the lesson yet, but slowly the EU is waking up as well and pushing back.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> But is the majority of the population thriving? Looking at the numbers: low unemployment, strong consumer spending, average income increasing at a rate higher than inflation, I'd say the majority is doing better than most years. They might not feel that way though, and we've been in a continuous vibes-cession since COVID.
Family needs to make $107,700 a year to own a home. Apartment in a moderate-cost area is about $70,000-$100,000/year. Median salary in the US is $59,300 What considered poverty level in the US for: 1 person: $15,060 2 people: $20,440 3 people: $25,820 4 people: $31,200 According to recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau, around 50% of Americans make $70,000 or more annually. That means about 50% of the US can not af…
> around 50% of Americans make $70,000 or more annually.
Wait a second. "50% of Americans making X or more" means X is the median. Does that imply a ton of people are working more than one job?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> a good chunk of the population live paycheck to paycheck. Is that not true in other economies? Was that not true at some (mythical?) point in the past? What number, specifically, would you like to see before you're willing to declare "The Economy is Good"? Basically the point you made is an example of the Economics of Vibes. It's non-falsifiable and allows you to justify any position you want. We're about to start…
Family needs to make $107,700 a year to own a home. Apartment in a moderate-cost area is about $70,000-$100,000/year. Median salary in the US is $59,300 What considered poverty level in the US for: 1 person: $15,060 2 people: $20,440 3 people: $25,820 4 people: $31,200 According to recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau, around 50% of Americans make $70,000 or more annually. That means about 50% of the US can not af…