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The U.S. economy is booming. So why are tech companies laying off workers?
(www.washingtonpost.com)
this post was submitted on 04 Feb 2024
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As a result, earnings have outpaced increases in prices such that real wages have increased since before the pandemic. Real weekly earnings for the median worker grew 1.7 percent between 2019 and 2023.[3] This means that one week of pay for the median worker now buys more than a week of pay did in 2019, despite higher prices. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 1, the increases in earnings are by no means concentrated at the top: in fact, they skew toward the middle class and the lower end of the income distribution. The 25th percentile of the wage distribution saw their nominal weekly earnings grow by $143, from $611 in 2019 to $754 in 2023. When adjusted for inflation, this amounts to a 3.2 percent increase in real earnings. Real earnings increases were particularly strong for the median Black and Hispanic Americans, who saw increases of 5.7 and 2.9 percent, respectively.[4]
Data doesn't lie.
I think one problem with the "vibes" everyone is giving here is that most people aren't as poor as they think they are. I suspect a lot of people on this site would not believe that one third of American households make less than $50,000 a year, and 8% of American households make less than $15,000 a year.. If you're making $80k and struggling, it can be tough to hear that "the poor" are doing better because you think you are one of the poor.
I appreciate a data supported argument, and love that you actually linked sources.
One thing that I feel is missing in most of the linked analyses is that inflation has also hit unevenly, and the price of basic goods has increased significantly more than overall inflation. Which would explain why households still have less disposable income, also the mean debt burden is much higher leading to loan costs being more common.
"Real wages" takes that into account. The term "real" (as in "real wages", "real earnings", etc) means the increase in money minus the increase in inflation.
So for example the top paragraph says there's been a "3.2 increase in real earnings". That means there's been a (pulling numbers out of my ass to illustrate): 7.5% increase in earnings, but also a 4.3% increase in inflation.
But price increases of cereals ( bread, pasta, grains, etc.) increased by about 7,5 % last year alone, which is more than the inflation, and more than the increase after inflation.
That's where people might complain. They still can't afford food, as food prices increase faster than overall inflation
That's a fair criticism, and the Biden administration is looking into more specific action with regards to grocery stores. More work needs to be done to bring food costs to a reasonable level. I'd also support a revising of the CPI to better account for necessities like food and housing.
Data can absolutely be misleading. Liars, damn liars, and statisticians, as they say. And trying to produce one number that somehow represents everyone will never work, whatever economists want to think.
The fact is many of the super-poor are doing better because government benefits like social security are indexed to inflation, meaning they are actually keeping up.
Personally, my real earnings are down over $10,000 a year. My whole industry has stagnant wages. Don’t piss on me and tell me it’s raining.
At this point there are more people trying to reject data based arguments with that cliche than there are people making bogus cases according to it.
Well it's a good thing no one is attempting that?
You're an outlier. Understand that you're not the center of the universe, please.
Oh, what do you call a statement like "The US economy is booming?"
Are you going to tell me I am the only one struggling and not seeing wage gains? Do you want to tell me my experience does not matter?
Do you just not understand the concept of other people existing?
Yes. You apparently do not. So long as some people do good, everyone else that is struggling can fuck themselves, it seems.
So unless a policy helps literally everyone, you're gonna say it's not good enough?
So as long as a policy helps some people, we don’t have to try and help more?
Who says we're not?
I see little policy effort besides what was already done. What proposed policies can you inform me of?
I don't really know how to address such a mind-bogglingly stupid comment. You see the policies that exist, but you refuse to believe that any new ones are being proposed?
I'm gonna bet a billion dollars that you have never actually looked for upcoming policies. And now, because you haven't seen them (because you haven't looked), you steadfastly believe they don't exist, and you demand I show them to you? What in the goddamn hell?
You take a room with 10 poor people in it. Joe Biden comes in and says to person #1, here's twenty thousand dollars. Hope that helps. Then he leaves. Then he comes back in and says to person #2, here is twenty thousand dollars. Hope that helps. Then he leaves. Then he comes back in and says to person #3, here is twenty thousand dollars. Hope that helps. Then he leaves. Then you, person #6, get all pissy because clearly he is gone forever and will never give you twenty thousand dollars.
You're like an infant.
I’ve looked. I’ve seen little. But you don’t seem to have looked, since you are so confident they exist but can’t name one. Instead you just call me names and resort to ad hominem attacks.
You seem to be under the impression I am supporting Trump or something. I despise him and every Republican.
But that doesn’t mean I’m not pissed when I see prices skyrocket while my pay only goes up 2% a year.
Well if you're dumb I'll call ya dumb.
Look, federal negotiations are usually kept quiet until a final deal is announced, but even some basic googling brings up a few examples of stuff that's in the pipeline:
Increased child tax credit
Eliminating "junk fees" at colleges
Removing the loophole that allows banks to charge overdraft fees
Requiring Medicare and Medicaid to respond to prior authorization requests within seven days
The Biden admin is constantly working towards a variety of legislative deals and policy changes that help all kinds of people.
I have and will have no children
I’ve been graduated from college for 18 years
I’ve never paid an overdraft fee in my life
I am 24 years from being Medicare eligible
I don’t think I’m that unique. Your below policies will help many, but also will not make a difference for many. Sorry I am not pleased being in a perpetual donut hole. Too poor to be comfortable, yet too “rich” to get help.
I mean, I didn't know any of that about you
Didn’t say you did.
I just want you to realize there are still a ton of us struggling, regardless of what the official numbers say. For a lot of us, or pay has not caught up with inflation, and there is no sign of it happening soon. Necessities continue to go up faster than inflation. I don’t care that TVs are cheaper, I don’t need a new tv, but I do need to eat.
It is more dangerous this November than people realize.
Now, I’ve upvoted some of your comments here but I’m gonna stop you on this one. Yeah, the economy should support literally everyone. Yeah, there should be change as long as there’s any poverty. It’s called having a floor and basic human dignity. Does every single policy have to be aimed at the worst off? No. But you came dangerously close here to saying that it doesn’t matter if only some people are suffering.
Well that's fucking dumb. The whole point of what I was saying is that this mythical "make everyone not poor" policy doesn't exist. Different groups require different solutions, and some are more politically tenable than others, and some have unintended effects that result in other groups being worse off.
Demanding every policy help everyone and saying it's useless if it doesn't is more stupid than I know how to put into words.
that's what we're trying to get you to do!
wat
I've been in the 1/3 my whole 36 years I've been alive. To me the economy has failed.
You can say that the economy failed for you. Not that, to you, the whole economy is a failure. That makes no sense.
Ah, I see. You are poor, therefore everyone is poor. Makes sense.
What is it with you people coming here and making the most absurd statements? Seriously fuck off back to Reddit along with your strawmen. You want to know why I'm poor? Graduated high school and studied to be an electrician,then the 2008 housing bubble collapsed so I went back to school to learn IT but nobody wanted a fresh out of high school no experience 20 something year old in an oversaturated market so all I got were shit, low paying jobs for 10 years. Now that I've been trying to learn programming to get out of my current dead end job for the last 18 months and the tech sector is firing off employees left and right. The economy failed. Pull your head out if your ass or stop being a corporatr shill trying to astroturf real problems away.
$80k is a struggle salary where I live but only if you have the ambition to own property and raise multiple kids. The common narrative is that everyone could do that on manual labor wages back in 1950 but that’s definitely bullshit.
The real travesty is that my kids teachers are pulling down $25k - absolutely ridiculous.
Not only that: once, I went to take the qualifying exam for California teachers and the room was full of people yammering about that sweet $25k they were about to start making in just two short years when they get their credential. That’s poor.