There’s a conundrum that economists and political strategists have been chewing on for more than a year: The economy is good, but Americans say it’s lousy.
People are spending more because everything is substantially more expensive, you obtuse peanuts. People are dipping into their savings because they're running out of money.
people who are upset often buy things to make themselves feel better, even if they know they shouldn't.
with the rate prices have been rising by for a while, some might feel that it makes sense to spend now before products become me even more unaffordable.
We just redid the kitchen and put new flooring in. We've had the money but the prices of shit hasnt come down much. I finally got sick of listening to it (my wife) and puked the trigger. Your #2 is exactly why.
People have jobs but not enough to get major quality of life things like nice car or their own home and getting those things seem out of reach so they are spending on what makes them forget how depressing it is they can't have those things.
I think it's because lots of people might be in better place financially but still fucked overall. Especially when your factor in student loans which are basically going to be there wether I save for them or not.
I know that since covid I've been willing to spend to do fun things. What's the point of saving when it removes all joy from my life.
is the just 'profits are up' because they artificially doubled the priced of everything, and then some of us got a mild pay bump. yay. thats not 'spending like its great'. thats still 'spending to fucking get by'
They also blew right past inflation without really explaining how much of the extra “spending” was due to the rise in costs across the board, everything from streaming video to groceries to cars have taken a big jump in cost.
I’m not spending more because I think the economy is great, I’m spending more because everything costs more and corporations are quite happy to keep jacking up prices for their massive profits.
In a CNN poll released Tuesday night, 72% of all Americans say things in the country today are going badly, and 66% said the economy will be “extremely important” when deciding who to vote for next year.
But just 2% of voters say the economy is excellent, according to a separate New York Times-Siena College poll released earlier this week.
Folks don’t tend to shell out thousands on Taylor Swift tickets and steak dinners and vacations when they’re worried about where their next paycheck is coming from.
Of course, to pay for it all, Americans are dipping into some dangerous places — something you don’t typically do unless 1) you’re desperate, or 2) the labor market is booming and you feel like your job is secure.
Your morning cup of coffee still costs 60 cents more than it did before the pandemic, and there’s no incentive for Starbucks (or wherever) to bring prices down now that they know you’re willing to pay for it.
It now takes nearly 41% of the median household’s monthly income to cover the principal and interest payment on a median-priced home.
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