Why Americans are bummed out about the economy ( www.cnn.com )

US consumers remain unimpressed with this progress, however, because they remember what they were paying for things pre-pandemic. Used car prices are 34% higher, food prices are 26% higher and rent prices are 22% higher than in January 2020, according to our calculations using PCE data.

While these are some of the more extreme examples of recent price increases, the average basket of goods and services that most Americans buy in any given month is 17% more expensive than four years ago.

TechNerdWizard42 ,

I'm not a R but the Democrats seriously need to stop pushing this shitty "economy is awesome" narrative. Because everytime someone hears it who isn't feeling the economy, it makes them hate the Democrats a little more. Staying home and not voting because your candidate has pissed you off, is just as bad.

For anyone who hasn't recieved a 20% pay increase, the economy is not good. In fact you'd need about a 35% to 50% pay increase to be feeling the same as you did pre pandemic. If you job hopped during the super awesome fun times of Covid hiring and got a boost in salary, then yeah you're new salary offset by new higher prices makes the economy feel better than it was.

But if you're the majority of people who did not get 50% adjustments, you are having a bad time. You are factually worse off financially than you were.

The idea of blaming who or what made the bad economy is a lost game. Bush tanked the economy, Obama got the blame. Trump tanked the economy, Biden got the blame. But just because Biden didn't tank it, doesn't mean it isn't tanked.

There is nobody, not a single person, I know of that is doing better today than 2020.

return2ozma OP ,
@return2ozma@lemmy.world avatar

It's the gaslighting that's pissing people off. "The economy is great!" ... "For who?!"

Johnvanjim ,

Corporate price gouging

hark ,
@hark@lemmy.world avatar

Ding ding ding. I have no idea where they're pulling these numbers from when my grocery bill has doubled since the pandemic. I wish it was only 26% higher.

GrymEdm ,
@GrymEdm@lemmy.world avatar

If you want to know why Americans are bummed out about their purchasing power, just look at this chart about how wages abruptly stopped increasing with productivity 45 years ago. People are accomplishing more than ever before in history and being left with less buying power. In many cases wages don't even keep pace with inflation because companies pay based on what they can get away with, not what the work is worth.

crusa187 ,

This is the answer. For 50 years now wages have remained stagnant while productivity has gone up through the roof. We are being robbed decade after decade, and by now claims of “strongest economy” feel like slaps in the face. Many of us are earning more than ever before, yes, but also have less purchasing power than ever before.

Remember that in the 1950s a high school grad could support a family of 4 with a house and car on a single income. That’s how much has been taken from us by the rich and corporations.

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