The US economy is doing well in many statistical aspects, yet majority of Americans say they unhappy with the current state of our economy. Unemployment is at a five decade low, wages are now outpacing inflation, GDP is expanding, and the stock market made a rebound from the terrible year it had prior. So why are Americans still unhappy? According to the article there are 3 underlying reason that the categories listed above don't show. The first is the financial distress that many Americans are still under due to the setbacks of the pandemic. Basic essentials are still 25% higher on average than before the pandemics, which has caused more and more credit card debt, which has put many Americans under distress. The second is Americans are struggling to pay their bills. This has much to due with the same reasons listed before, which is mainly people are still struggling to recover from hits during the pandemic. Finally, housing is unaffordable. The average household income needed to pay for a house has gone up drastically, and is a major factor for why many Americans, (especially those in the housing market) are unhappy with the economy.
Here's why Americans are so unhappy with the economy ...CBS Newshttps://www.cbsnews.com › MoneyWatch
To relate this post to some concepts we have been learning about in class, it sounds like the long term ideology of market clearing and price flexibility is overall in a good place for society and the economy as a whole. However, Americans are more worried and more highly effected in the short term by the "sticky" prices and wages that affect the current standard of living due to the recovery of the pandemic.
ReplyDeleteI think there is a massive misconception about how the economy is doing right now because yes comparatively speaking to how we were as an economy during the pandemic we are thriving, but compared to if there wasn't a massive pandemic we aren't doing as well as the numbers show, so Americans aren't happy still facing issues that may appear to not be there but are very prevalent.
ReplyDeleteI think financial distress if a definitely a key factor that influences the perception of the economy. The fact that groceries are still 25% higher than pre-pandemic can be concerning to the average American. This also makes me think of the basket of goods and how that might be influenced if the essential goods remain at an increase post pandemic. This all probably alludes to the interest rate and how interest rates have gone up in an effort to control consumption and investing. As a result, Americans are having to deal with higher prices and expenses while the same income.
ReplyDeleteI read about this recently and watched a lecture where the woman described the American perception of the economy doing poorly when it is actually thriving as something called a "vibecession." I think this is just a very human way to shut down and get stressed over higher prices and not seeing any end in sight.
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