Let’s move beyond vibes and talk numbers. What’s the metric that best makes the case for the argument that the economy is doing as poorly as people think it is. I’m only interested in data with sources, if your comment doesn’t have a hyperlink, please don’t bother.

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by Bill_Nihilist

10 comments

  1. These numbers don’t match the realities of Fox News viewers and Facebook news feeds so I will stick my fingers in my ears and call you an idiot. 

    /s because I’ve learned that sarcasm blurs reality around here. 

  2. As a freelancer working in the film/tv/advertising industry my bookings are down 40-50%. I have many friends who after making six figures consistently for nearly a decade have now not worked in six months. End of last year and into this year has been brutal and many are leaving the industry.

  3. Number 5, Real Wage, when plotted against inflation.

    Do your own homework, bud.

  4. Another effort to lie with statistics. I don’t need a hyperlink to determine if I am better off. Inflation up, prices up, interest rates up.

    Unemployment rate, job creation, GDP per capita, employment to population ratio, real wages, net worth per household, stock market or uninsured numbers affect me NOT IN THE LEAST and do not determine my perception of the economy.

    Most people’s perception of the economy is determined by their personal experience. Are my wages going up faster than inflation?…mostly not. Are the things I buy higher priced or lower than 4 years ago?…mostly higher. Are my interest rates higher or lower than 4 tears ago?…decidedly higher. Is is easier or harder to buy and house or rent an apartment than 4 years ago?…harder.

  5. No expert here and sorry to bother without a hyperlink, but I’m asking myself how S&P500 doubled in value between 19 and 21 if the whole world was in a huge crisis, people couldn’t work and lots of companies closed. So yeah I’m just trying to say that maybe these numbers generalize a little too much between rich companies and not rich families, so they shouldn’t be used as a metric to say the economy is bad. The economy is doing great! Only for medium-big companies tho. But it’s my personal opinion and again I’m no expert or anything like that.

  6. I think 24 million uninsured people is insane, but you can tell how broken this stupid fucking country is bc that is considered a completely state of affairs

  7. Inflation

    [https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/current-inflation-rates/](https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/current-inflation-rates/)

    Government Deficit

    [https://www.thebalancemoney.com/us-deficit-by-year-3306306](https://www.thebalancemoney.com/us-deficit-by-year-3306306)

    Real Rent / Housing Cost

    [https://www.apartmentlist.com/research/national-rent-data](https://www.apartmentlist.com/research/national-rent-data)

    Gasoline

    [https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=pet&s=emm_epm0_pte_nus_dpg&f=m](https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=pet&s=emm_epm0_pte_nus_dpg&f=m)

    Insurance

    [https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PCU9241269241263](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PCU9241269241263)

  8. Skewed numbers don’t reflect the reality.

    People can’t afford their lives…

    https://www.npr.org/2024/05/14/1251295805/credit-cards-debt-inflation

    https://www.investopedia.com/auto-loan-delinquencies-hit-13-year-high-as-monthly-payments-get-bigger-8559565

    https://fortune.com/2024/02/01/emergency-1000-expense-most-americans-broke-debt-bankrate/

    https://apnews.com/article/affordable-housing-rent-eviction-price-harvard-congress-f5411012e10fa78d0257c137e60c1be3

    People aren’t paying their car notes or credit cards…does that look like vibes to you or an indication of the actual state of peoples financial security

  9. Metric should just be buying power, if you can buy less now than you could yesterday, last week, last year etc. then things are getting worse

  10. I don’t have the plot but feel free to look it up for me. if you take the median home price In my area and figure out today’s mortgage on it with current interest rates and compare it to the same home 4 years ago. versus my salary over the same time. basically buying a home 4 years ago was the right move. now it’s completely out of reach.

    moral of the story is everyone experiences the economy differently. you can’t just average out the whole thing. lots of millionaires and billionaires and other wealthy people in completely different situations offsetting the misery of the poor.

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