I study this issue. People are doing pretty well in our US economy. Some 43% say they have difficulty making ends meet, 57% report no difficulty. Some 34% say they experience hardship, 66% say no hardship. (from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) survey of 2017, Financial Well-Being in America, p. 72). Yet only 54% say they are certain they could handle a $2,000 "unexpected expense". And recently the Robert Wood Johnson Fdtn, with Harvard U., presented a survey of August 2021 showing 38% say their "financial situation" is "only fair" or "poor". "Good" is the answer for 50%, and excellent for 12%. Therefore the common perception is "honey, we're doing OK." But few understand their financial situation could be a lot better: the average household income is about $120,000 to $126,000, yet the median is around $65,000. And as for savings, the RWJF survey shows that 38% have no -- NO -- liquid assets, "not currently having any savings to fall back on". Before the pandemic it was 19%, and now it's double 19, or 38%. That figure of 46% who could not handle an emergency expense of $2,000 has grown by a lot, from 46% to 65%? Who knows. Follow the money, says Sirota. The more families who experience hardship the more difficult it is for Republicans to say "no taxes on the wealthy", no Build Back Better. The web page Inequality.org linked me to this article. My blog page is Economics Without Greed, Part Two. Look at next week's newsletter from Inequality.org, the editors will have an article showing that "total household net worth" or private savings increased by $23 trillion in 12 months, July 2020 to 2021, and that is more than all private income. OK, think of your yearly income, then think of your savings. Your cumulative savings should be bigger than your income, right? For many income is bigger than savings. This is unacceptable, there is no “financial security” in that, and it makes for a very fragile economy, meaning recession will hit hard. That total savings actually exceeding income is incredible. It's incredible. But it's a Federal Reserve report, Flow of Funds, that reports this aberration. Money is the core issue, as Sirota says, and political and public media corruption is its major product, leading to magic thinking from the Trump followers.
If the people stood up, where would they start? I remember watching a Will Self monologue, aimed at a British audience, were he mentioned that there is no hope of change (for the young) because the only power structure that the people had had been dissipated. Industrial towns had large work forces at individual factories, which meant quite large populations all bound together by one thing. And that gave them power. With the demise of manufacturing, that people power is much diminished.
I'm of the view that little can or will change unless forced by nature. We're on the cusp of this now with the constant decline of our primary energy resources. This is a natural, hard physical limit that has killed growth.
I study this issue. People are doing pretty well in our US economy. Some 43% say they have difficulty making ends meet, 57% report no difficulty. Some 34% say they experience hardship, 66% say no hardship. (from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) survey of 2017, Financial Well-Being in America, p. 72). Yet only 54% say they are certain they could handle a $2,000 "unexpected expense". And recently the Robert Wood Johnson Fdtn, with Harvard U., presented a survey of August 2021 showing 38% say their "financial situation" is "only fair" or "poor". "Good" is the answer for 50%, and excellent for 12%. Therefore the common perception is "honey, we're doing OK." But few understand their financial situation could be a lot better: the average household income is about $120,000 to $126,000, yet the median is around $65,000. And as for savings, the RWJF survey shows that 38% have no -- NO -- liquid assets, "not currently having any savings to fall back on". Before the pandemic it was 19%, and now it's double 19, or 38%. That figure of 46% who could not handle an emergency expense of $2,000 has grown by a lot, from 46% to 65%? Who knows. Follow the money, says Sirota. The more families who experience hardship the more difficult it is for Republicans to say "no taxes on the wealthy", no Build Back Better. The web page Inequality.org linked me to this article. My blog page is Economics Without Greed, Part Two. Look at next week's newsletter from Inequality.org, the editors will have an article showing that "total household net worth" or private savings increased by $23 trillion in 12 months, July 2020 to 2021, and that is more than all private income. OK, think of your yearly income, then think of your savings. Your cumulative savings should be bigger than your income, right? For many income is bigger than savings. This is unacceptable, there is no “financial security” in that, and it makes for a very fragile economy, meaning recession will hit hard. That total savings actually exceeding income is incredible. It's incredible. But it's a Federal Reserve report, Flow of Funds, that reports this aberration. Money is the core issue, as Sirota says, and political and public media corruption is its major product, leading to magic thinking from the Trump followers.
"The oil energy crisis is here. Investors must be prepared. " https://f.hubspotusercontent40.net/hubfs/4043042/Content%20Offers/2021.Q2%20Commentary/2021.Q2%20Goehring%20%26%20Rozencwajg%20Market%20Commentary.pdf
If the people stood up, where would they start? I remember watching a Will Self monologue, aimed at a British audience, were he mentioned that there is no hope of change (for the young) because the only power structure that the people had had been dissipated. Industrial towns had large work forces at individual factories, which meant quite large populations all bound together by one thing. And that gave them power. With the demise of manufacturing, that people power is much diminished.
I'm of the view that little can or will change unless forced by nature. We're on the cusp of this now with the constant decline of our primary energy resources. This is a natural, hard physical limit that has killed growth.