politics

I'll believe the economics are better when I'm not paying markedly more for everything in my life and my salary increases.

The politicians are so wildly out of touch with the citizens.

This idea that the data is "mistrusted" or "unseen" is ridiculous to the point of incredulity. I don't care what the data says, I know what my lived experiences are and everything is getting wildly more expensive except my labor, it seems. Show me any study you want, it won't change that groceries are 30%+ more expensive, my rent keeps going up, restaurants and bars have gotten nearly 50% or more pricier and my wage hasn't grown to match.

That is because Americans are not seeing the benefits. CEOs and stock holders are.

Hard to believe it when strong economy doesn't translate to food on the plate.

Tax the rich

If everyone says they feel like the economy is bad, but the metrics say the economy is good, maybe the metrics are wrong or measuring the wrong things!

Does the definition of "economy" actually include people or are we just looking at corporation numbers because I can believe THAT economy is going strong but there's no way I believe that the entire economy is doing just fine. You don't need to look further than the grocery store prices to see that.

Nothing, not even basic necessities like food, is even remotely affordable anymore, let along a roof over your head. Yet they still want us to work to the bone like slaves and have babies while somehow not having a place to live. Biden has passed some great legislation but the economy is nowhere near ok for anyone except the 1%.

People know when their lives are getting better or worse. You can explain to them all you want about per-capita GDP, adjusted vs raw unemployment, whatever other jargon-crusted, hyperabstract measurement you care to explain, but people know the world they're living in. They know whether they're struggling to get ahead, struggling to stay even or struggling to slow the rate at which they fall behind.

Unemployment numbers don't mean a damn thing when wages aren't enough to live on. The profit has spoken and it says that the working class can starve outside for all it cares.

I hate both sides. How's the economy doing good when my wife and I work 40+ hours a week, both have college degrees, and can barely afford a 2 bedroom rental apartment in a shit part of the country let alone ever think about owning a house?? Btw second bedrooms for our son.

Because, for a lot of people, the economy isn't improving.

Say you were on the verge of buying a house, interest rates have doubled, are at a 22 year high, and now you're priced out of the market.

Or, say you're like me and bought a house in 2021 with a 3.25% interest rate. You're locked in. You can't sell your house, a) because nobody could afford the 7% it's going to take to buy it and b) you likely can't afford the 7% it will likely take to buy a new house.

Refinancing isn't an option because who wants a higher rate. Ditto for a 2nd mortgage.

And this doesn't even get into rising food and fuel costs.

Nothing indicates a stronger economy than roaring inflation, high as fuck interest rates, tons of corporate bankruptcies, and bank failures.

What a fucking joke. This timeline sucks.

No I totally trust the people telling us the economy is strong despite everything I see around me. If the economy doesn't work for the people then it doesn't matter what GDP or any of the other big stats are doing.

I generally like Biden, but that's a crock of shit. Anytime news outlets claim that the "economy is strong", they're almost always talking about how it is for the investor and owner classes, not for the working class. This economy is absolute dogshit for the proles, how the hell is anybody supposed to survive under these conditions? I make OK money and I'm barely scraping by, I don't know how the fuck anybody else is still hanging on. Housing and the price of consumer goods needs to seriously come the fuck back down to Earth, it's squeezing people dry. I kind of wish people in apartment complexes would just start banding together and burn their rental offices down and just refuse to pay rents anymore, because whoever decides what "market rates" are for renting apartments are some of the greediest motherfuckers on the planet.

The economy matter less to the individual when wage growth has stagnated and most Americans are living pay check to pay check. The economy is healthy for the millionaire class, not the every day American.

The stock market isn’t the economy… jic that’s what this article is referring to.

Uses a stupid fucking definition of unemployment, then tosses out a biased ass line disparaging peoples distrust of media.

But the poll found that 51% wrongly believe that unemployment is nearing a 50-year high rather than those who believe it’s actually low (49%).

I think people rightly don't believe it because it's apparent that the economic machine in the United States is not built for the benefit of the average worker, it's built for the benefit of the capitalist class that's captured the government. Republicans may be more up front about upholding the status quo, but there are plenty of corporate Democrats that will support the same status quo while chasing the social capital that comes with agitating for change that more progressive groups are pushing for.

People don't have faith when they're constantly sacrificed at the altar of "the economy" without seeing any of the benefits of an improving economy. For a good example, look at how the BNSF rail strikes were resolved before Christmas last year. Rail workers were striking for very reasonable things like 7 days of sick leave per year (up from literally 0, per the contract they had with BNSF) and appropriate staffing to prevent emergencies (like what happened in East Palestine, Ohio in early 2023), and what did Biden do? Biden, the guy who campaigned as one of the most pro-labor and pro-union presidents in recent history, stabbed them in the fucking back and made it illegal to strike because an unstable supply chain around Christmas spelled "economic catastrophe". Biden would rather go to bat for a large corporation than for the workers that corporation is shamelessly exploiting.

An economy "going strong" for only those at the top isn't going strong at all.

That’s because for us actual people it’s not getting better, everything is expensive as shit. Politicians are living in a different universe

How is the economy booming when Arizona Iced Tea is $1.29?

The economy! Awesome! So we going to raise wages. What's the plan?

Nothing?

Oh, we're going to do nothing...

The cost of literally everything is outpacing my income like Usain Bolt racing a sleep deprived tortoise.

"the economy" doesn't mean shit if it doesn't translate to the fruits of our own labor.

Well, yes. If you are a high-income earner or if you make most of your money from rents or investments ... the 'economy' is strong. For the rest of us - we have to make choices between healthcare and food.

The stock market isn't the economy regardless of what they try to convince us of.

When so many people can't afford to buy food, let alone homes while being fully employed - the economy isn't working.

tell me what the housing and rent inflation rate has been since 2010. We all know the economy is fucked. A lot of this bullshit did happen during trump's artificially low interest rates.

Meanwhile, gas prices are driving up the cost of everything. again.

Yeah. Record breaking costs and record breaking profit margins as far as the eye can see. Fuck off with this bullshit.

That's because the average American doesn't benefit from a "strong economy".