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Perceptions are worse than 2008-2011 but the economy's doing better than ever somehow. The economy has now become completely decoupled from the average person's experience.
I mean over here people had turn the heating to a minimum because of insane costs but we get news articles about energy companies having the best year ever, adjusting their profit goals upwards. Same for supermarkets while there has never been this much people in food insecurity in the country.
By all means the economy is doing good. Companies are raking in record profits. But ask the average person in the street how their finances have changed in the last two years and you'll have a very different answer.
Yeah I feel like a medieval serf hearing about how the baron's firstborn succeeded in opening up a new mine. Great for the baron and his coffers, but I'm probably getting sent to the mines.
That's how I feel when I hear "good" economic news these days.
Believe it or not, that’s always been the case.
Line goes up: the rich make money.
Line goes down: poor people lose money.
Not in the US, but our economy generally piggybacks on the US economy, and it is the worst I have ever seen in my lifetime. Cost of living is up, buying power is down, and I don't think I have received a raise in ages. People dying in a "first world" country because they can't afford to turn on the ac/heat is insane.
I am flying back to the US to visit some family for the first time in about six years, and the cost has tripled since then. A five day visit is costing me more than a month salary.
I'm in Canada, and same experience here. You can really see the signs of the standard of living collapsing all around. There are more and more tent encampments popping up all over the place, stores closing down, things are starting to fall apart and not getting repaired. The mood in the country is very grim right now.
We need some economist to come out and say everyone is wrong and things are great actually, the plebs haven’t even considered the line going up.
The true signifier of a good economy is increased exploitation after all.
"In order to investigate this further, I brought in several billionaires to discuss the economy. Obviously they must be economic experts. Mr. Bezos, what do you think?"
"Everything is great!"
"Okay, thanks. There is no problem at all it turns out. Good night everyone!"
The cost of almost everything has doubled in the course of a year. I know chain restaurants are a weak metric for inflation, but when I met my partner, her and I could both get burritos at Chipotle for $13 total. Now, it costs $13 for one burrito. We're seeing the people who can afford it spend more and more because the prices have simply doubled, and everybody else just going without.
In 2008, people didn't have money because they lost their jobs. In 2023, people are working more than ever but still can't afford anything. I feel like most people would rather be poor with time than poor with no time.
that has always been my vibe.. if im gonna be destitute i might as well have free time with it
They approach people themselves to get the kind of sample they want
I didn't mean to imply that the sample selection was dishonest. People can be selected so that a sample is a more realistic representation. But I also don't have faith in CNBC to be honest so it's a toss up.
how well the economy is doing is only an indication of how much the poor have to gain from socialism.
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Indeed, if the current wealth was fairly distributed, the majority of people would see a phenomenal rise in their standard of living.
