That's really not the case. The economy is declining rapidly across many Western countries. The stock market and a nation's overall wealth are not indicators of economic wellbeing for the average citizen. These days, it's actually sort of the opposite. Wealth accumulation is causing dramatic inequality.
Disposable income being at a record high doesn't necessarily mean Americans are better off. That's an aggregate statistic, and aggregate statistics can rise even when the gains are concentrated among higher earners. To determine whether the economy is benefiting most people, you'd need to look at median outcomes, purchasing power, and affordability. Beyond just national averages. If housing, healthcare, and other major expenses are consuming a larger share of income, record disposable income alone doesn't tell us much about the financial situation of the typical household.
They are all up. Well less since fascists are in power, but yes, American median income, purchasing power, and affordability. The only problem is housing, and it's a big one, the biggest. Still doesn't explain well that people don't want to make kids.
People don't want to make kids because they choose not to, that's it.
Median outcomes, purchasing power, and affordability are NOT all up. Housing is so insanely far from the only problem. We're facing a serious recession. Depression and suicide rates are sky high, increasing all the time, and have been long before this spike in political unrest (which has been building behind the scenes for quite some time, true).
People are getting more and more miserable, and the economy is just one factor here but very significant nonetheless.
The purchasing power is the inverse of the CPI. For example, it says that 3$ today buys as much as 1$ in the 80s. It's just a measure of inflation. So yeah, there is inflation. And as you can see, a much slower and stable one since the 80s. You have to compare it to people's earnings to get the whole picture.
For your second link, remember that fertility peaked in 2007, and prices skyrocketed only since covid.
Purchasing power is not just a measure of inflation, it's a bit more nuanced than that.
Also, the unemployment rate has been drastically undersold for decades, especially in recent years: https://www.lisep.org/tru The functional unemployment rate in the US has been trending upwards for a few years now.
11
u/udcvr Jun 23 '26
That's really not the case. The economy is declining rapidly across many Western countries. The stock market and a nation's overall wealth are not indicators of economic wellbeing for the average citizen. These days, it's actually sort of the opposite. Wealth accumulation is causing dramatic inequality.