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Why America's economy is soaring ahead of its rivals

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Re: Why America's economy is soaring ahead of its rivals

#411

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.

US Federal Reserve studies indicate that the percentage of US households with no excess income after necessary expenses (as distinct from "ordinary expenses" as a term of art) is on the order of 10-15%. This definition roughly matches most people's intuition of what "living paycheck-to-paycheck" means. That isn't nothing but it implies 85-90% of Americans are not actually living paycheck-to-paycheck. There is another…

Are retirement savings considered ordinary expenses? If not, that could be a huge gap in this understanding.

Re: Why America's economy is soaring ahead of its rivals

#413

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.

US Federal Reserve studies indicate that the percentage of US households with no excess income after necessary expenses (as distinct from "ordinary expenses" as a term of art) is on the order of 10-15%. This definition roughly matches most people's intuition of what "living paycheck-to-paycheck" means. That isn't nothing but it implies 85-90% of Americans are not actually living paycheck-to-paycheck. There is another…

> US Federal Reserve studies indicate that the percentage of US households with no excess income after necessary expenses (as distinct from "ordinary expenses" as a term of art) is on the order of 10-15%. This definition roughly matches most people's intuition of what "living paycheck-to-paycheck" means. That isn't nothing but it implies 85-90% of Americans are not actually living paycheck-to-paycheck.

There is absolutely no way I believe those numbers unless they have defined necessary expenses to be unreasonably narrow.

Re: Why America's economy is soaring ahead of its rivals

#414
post #108

My two cents: the U.S. owes much of its economic strength to its robust legal framework. It provides a system where complex business disputes can be handled and enforced effectively, creating trust and predictability for investors and entrepreneurs. This institutional strength is often overlooked but is critical for fostering innovation and long-term economic growth. Incidentally, recent Nobel laureates in economic s…

Doesn't the EU also have a robust legal framework?

Yes, and it is generally hostile towards wealth generators. And then they wonder why nearly every economic metric has been stagnant for decades at this point...

Re: Why America's economy is soaring ahead of its rivals

#415
post #14

This is an interesting take, because it contrasts with GDP PPP [0] which is suggesting that America is in fact being overtaken by its rivals although it has managed to outpace the EU. China is claiming to already be ahead and India is well on track to gain absolute economic ascendancy relative to the US. And I expect that Asia is going to start developing some serious military muscle on the back of that because they…

The EU is number one in quality of life and that’s all that matters to me. If we work just hard enough to maintain and maybe even improve it, other countries can do their pissing contest.

>The EU is number one in quality of life

I feel like this is only the case for a very narrow demographic - the young, bicycle-riding, sex-having mid-20s college grad still trying to figure out their calling in life while living frugally without a care.

It really sucks being 40 and still earning like 57k EUR or whatever.

Re: Why America's economy is soaring ahead of its rivals

#416

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.

Article from a couple of days ago on the "most Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck" myth: https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/paycheck-to-paycheck-and-five-...

Re: Why America's economy is soaring ahead of its rivals

#417

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.

People seemed to vote on how they felt not what these numbers said. So the vibes seem more valid than the stats at least on their real world impact in many ways. Continuing to yell at people about the numbers doesn't seem to be an effective strategy, maybe try a different approach?

I suppose those voters don't have to wait for too long: the economy is going to start doing great for them again at noon on January 20, 2025.

Re: Why America's economy is soaring ahead of its rivals

#418

Earlier quoted context omitted.

US Federal Reserve studies indicate that the percentage of US households with no excess income after necessary expenses (as distinct from "ordinary expenses" as a term of art) is on the order of 10-15%. This definition roughly matches most people's intuition of what "living paycheck-to-paycheck" means. That isn't nothing but it implies 85-90% of Americans are not actually living paycheck-to-paycheck. There is another…

Can you provide some links? Searches understandably are finding more 'ordinary/necessary' expenses for business than for families

America blows past the rest of the developed world on disposable income per capita and it’s not even close: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disposable_household_and_per...

And before someone chimes in “that’s because of the billionaires throwing off the average!” Look at the median disposable income chart. America is still at the top.

The median American is far wealthier than the median European person, even after accounting for things Americans normally complain about like healthcare, education costs, and retirement contributions.

This results in some crazy stats, like the fact the median Mississippi resident has more disposable income than the average UK resident (and that includes financial hub London). And again, this is AFTER accounting for healthcare, education, etc costs.

Re: Why America's economy is soaring ahead of its rivals

#419
post #345
post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Business law is a state issue in the U.S. The reason that the U.S. has one set of legislation (more or less) is that 50 states (well, 49) have voluntarily adopted the Uniform Commercial Code. There is absolutely nothing stopping Europe from doing the same or similar except lack of political will.

Which state hasn't? I thought all states have adopted it with their own variations / changes.

Wikipedia [0] says Louisiana hasn't adopted all of the UCC articles.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Commercial_Code

Re: Why America's economy is soaring ahead of its rivals

#420

Earlier quoted context omitted.

US Federal Reserve studies indicate that the percentage of US households with no excess income after necessary expenses (as distinct from "ordinary expenses" as a term of art) is on the order of 10-15%. This definition roughly matches most people's intuition of what "living paycheck-to-paycheck" means. That isn't nothing but it implies 85-90% of Americans are not actually living paycheck-to-paycheck. There is another…

> This includes things like car payments on a new BMW or a mortgage on a big house This also includes car payments on a used honda, and a mortgage on a small condo no? Why the exaggeration?

Because they were using those examples to illustrate the difference between necessary and ordinary expenses?
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