After reading this news story that half of Americans are skipping meals because of affordability and a bad economy, I have to ask how are you all doing out there?
I heard from a real estate agent friend of mine that REOs, i.e. bank foreclosures on home mortgages, are going up like crazy, which is a sign of bad times, like the recession of 2007-08.
I have heard from others about rents not being paid, lack of jobs, etc.
Every day, there’s more news of corporate layoffs, moreso than usual.
I live in the economic bubble of the SF Bay Area, where tech wealth more-or-less insulates me and mine from the most serious consequences of a bad economy, but how are things elsewhere?
Australian here. Financially things are okay for me and most the people I know, but the general stress is getting to us all. I always feel so worn down. A weekend is enough time to not want to die but not enough time to get actually rested.
I had to get a mouthguard because I’m grinding my teeth at night and the dentist said they’ve seen a spike in the number of people with the same problem. The stress is real and measurable.
I think that teeth grinding thing tends to happen anyway as you get older.
My dentist said I grind my teeth because I snore, i.e. apnea, which is a serious medical condition that can affect brain health later in life due to oxygen deprivation during sleeping hours.
This affects your ability to get long-term care insurance here in the States, because risk of dementia, stroke, etc. is much higher.
If a housemate/roommate/spouse/significant other says you snore, you should get yourself checked out by a sleep clinic and be prepared to have them prescribe a CPAP device.
Back to the grinding, like an idiot, I didn’t follow my dentist’s advice from 10-15 years ago to get a mouth guard, and my molars have been ground completely flat, resulting in multiple root canals and implants right now.
So you’re doing the right thing getting that mouthguard.
Cheers.
Northeastern US. Things are okay. Worse than I would have predicted 5 years ago but not terrible.
We pay our bills, contribute to the 401k and HSA, and have still been saving every month. Our electric + natural gas bills fluctuate as we switch from electric cooling to gas heating, but their combined monthly average has doubled in less than 5 years. I’m eyeing up solar systems for some relief. We don’t drive much so the direct price of gas hasn’t been huge. Groceries are a bit more expensive, but usually not as crazy as I see on the news. Clothing has gotten wildly expensive, with thrift and outlet stores selling stuff for prices I would have paid at regular retail 5 years ago.
We’re holding on. I wish we ate out, and especially drank out, less. I was always a homebody, but nowadays its $15-$20 for a cocktail, $10 for a domestic draft, plus tip.
Pretty decent in Switzerland. The cost of living has always been very high here, but so have the wages and inflation hasn’t been as bad here as in other places over the past few years.
Edit: Also, the fuel prices don’t really affect me at all, or at least only very indirectly. Now, more than ever, I am grateful for the awesome trains we have.
In the provinces of the Philippines, electricity and diesel prices are hitting hard. Add to that a bad rice harvest and an expected drought which will make the next one worse, and things get bad. For me personally I am working a remote position from the us, so I am earning dollars which are worth more an more pesos each week. We try to take care of people where we can but too many people struggling will lead to instability and safety issues
You have Trump to thank for the bad rice harvest too, because a good chunk of that Middle East petroleum that is blocked because of the war that he started would have to making fertilizer.
If you think it’s bad now, wait until next year’s rice harvest…
Its because of the el nino, heavy rains beat up the rice for this harvest, and they expect a severe drought for the next harvest (we have two per year). We can blame trump for the diesel prices and the electricity price but not for the rice harvest.
The positive of this is that we are switching to solar at an unbelievable pace and I think this islands will be solar powered for the most part in 5-10 years. Yes, it’s all Chinese imported, but at this time it is better to partner with the Chinese to import solar panels than with the Americans to import diesel
Not sure if I should write this, but here is a summary from Russia:
Everything is fine overall. There are some cuts (I work in a telecom company). Nevertheless, there are enough vacancies, and the only downside is the merging of positions from different departments in some places. At my last test interview sprint, I got a job in 3 days.
Fuel prices have almost doubled, so I’ve started driving less for non-essential matters. Small businesses have closed down in some places, so now there are only 3 snack bars in the neighborhood instead of 5. Inflation is felt unpleasantly; prices are slowly rising.
Nevertheless, I eat whatever I want, drink whatever I want, and buy electronics. Maybe I’m just lucky and things are worse for blue-collar workers.
Belgium. Personally, I have a job now so I feel fine, has a good bit of leftover money despite being on single salary. Salaries here are indexed against cost of living (not too many countries do this anymore), so anyone who is not living in the capitol can survive even on minimum salary; and in the capitol, yes with cohousing. People without a job are somewhat fucked though… yes the unemployment benefits are quite generous, but there simply aren’t many jobs out there. Belgium has a competitive strength in pharmaceuticals but then last year there was a pretty notable company shutting down, and recently GSK let go of a large chunk of their R&D team. Things are not looking very bright
I guess this isn’t what the topic is about but… macro-economics numbers seem functional? The fiscally conservative leading party implemented some budget cuts that were supposed to help, I’m not an economist so I can’t say whether they helped but there certainly were lots of protests. GDP is slowly growing, not as fast as NL but the numbers are going up
Edit: Just saw the news that the PM (Bart De Wever) submitted an official request to the king to resign. I take it back, we ball I guess 😂
well to put it nicely in egypt we are doing bad and probably failing because the
PresidentDictator is just not wanting democracy and is just bad at his jobI limit my food intake to stay skinny & petite & cute & energetic, but skipping meals also saves a lot of money. How’s the economy where I live? I can answer that in two words: Los Angeles.
Skipping meals now and then is energizing, I have found.
Skipping meals because you can’t afford food… That’s never happened to me, but I’d imagine it’s soul crushing.
I am in Melbourne, Australia, things are still ticking along fine enough BUT we can see the wave coming.
There was a book from 1957 called ‘On the beach’, it was about Melbourne being last city on Earth that has survived a nuclear war and how we would surcumb to the same fate as everyone else. It is starting to feel like that but in economic terms.
On The Beach was adapted into a good movie in 1959
Researcher here who taught graduate level research skills: I’m walking dogs.
Because of the belief that the economy is bad, employers are taking advantage of working class people by removing their niceties like remote work and easy work days. We’re being told to work harder and produce +50% to make up for a 10% shortfall which feels like a fucking scam.
Are you in the US?
Yes, sadly. My husband won’t move.
Rural north-eastern Brazil.
I’m unemployed, living with my mom and sibling and we’re neck-deep in debts while living on less than $400 a month. I can’t afford to go to university and there are little to no jobs that I can do nearby (I’m autistic and have a shitload of sensitivities). I’ve a couple more places to apply to, and my dad is studying the possibility of bringing me to live with him somewhere else.
What’s weird to me is that economist are observing the official numbers and concluding that things aren’t that bad and the public is suffering some kind of mass psychosis, when the reality is just worse than reflected in their numbers completely escapes them.
That’s because they aren’t looking at numbers or statistics that are directly relevant to typical citizens. GDP isn’t the same thing as average wages or cost of living.
The economy is great if you’re disgustingly wealthy.
Yes, but they do look at stuff like the unemployment rate, wages, etc… But I don’t think it captures the lived experience of stagnation we’ve been having for the past several years, and even if there’s “job growth” it might not be good jobs and people might know that they’re chances of getting a good job are slim to none, etc… lots of little things that wouldn’t necessarily be reflected in these incredibly broad statistics.
But economics, as a practiced science, is about boosting GDP, not making the lives of individuals better, so I think it indicates that the entire field is deeply flawed.
But economics, as a practiced science
“Economics” and “science” don’t belong in a sentence together
Unless there’s a “pseudo” immediately before the “science”…
Never forget that the capitalist economy thrives off of the exploitation of the working class.
UR is bs?
It kind of it is, because it doesn’t capture people who have given up on looking for work, either because they don’t think they can get a job, or think the jobs they can get are emotionally/physically worse than living off whatever systems they have access to.
The one you want to look at it if you want to understand society better is NEET–people Not in Education, Employment or Training…
Yes because economic metrics were never intended to show how the economy is doing for the average person. The entire field needs to be reworked from first principles before it has any value to us
Pay attention to the news reports talking about ‘K’ shaped economy, which is exactly what you’re talking about
I see economic indicators that I’ve never heard commented on.
We’ve been building storage places around here non-stop for several years. This is clear evidence that people are downgrading their living arrangements.
There are fewer flea market vendors and they’ll selling cheaper and cheaper. This leads me to believe the lower end of the income spectrum can no longer afford what was already stupid cheap. This is kinda true of garage sales, but those have always been the cheapest end of the used market.
People are leaving far less free shit on the curb. Either that or people are snatching it up faster. Not a good sign in either case.
That’s been a phenomenon for awhile now, there used to be more of a correlation between the economic data and the public perception of the economy. Things like low unemployment and wages outpacing inflation don’t necessarily result in improved consumer confidence like they used to.
Yes, but the academic question to ask if if people know something the numbers don’t.
Ahh logic. No longer a thing in the USA.
I only paid $200 of my rent today and have to backpay the rest. been eating white rice with random stuff mixed in to sustain. sometimes vegetables, sometimes beans, sometimes absurdly random shit like mustard or pickles lmao. gotta do whatcha gotta do I guess. I live not far in the central valley
Fuck, wish you best of luck bud o7
central valley
USA?
The central Valley is in california
I grew up somewhat privileged. We weren’t rich, but my family never really wanted for anything growing up. And then I was able to live at home until 25 and pay off my student loans and get a good career with no debt. So the economy doesn’t really affect me. I don’t live paycheck to paycheck but I’m extremely frugal and I do notice grocery prices increases. That being said I’m 100% progressive and do have sympathy for others and we need to fix this system.
What does fixing the system look like though? Far too many people seem to just want to consume unsustainably and would do so even more if they could.
How much does someone need?
Yes, some at the bottom really should have more. But there are many in the middle who should consume less and will justify it by comparing to those at the top who are even worse.
Unfortunately I don’t know how to stop the spending habits of others. Me personally I only buy what I need, not because I can. No fancy car. Once in a while I might splurge but usually on a birthday or Christmas. Part of my frugal is because I don’t know the future of the economy. If the market tanks that will affect my 401k too.
Taxing the rich could be a start. Universal healthcare. I’d be fine paying more taxes if it meant everyone was covered. Putting the right people in charge to make these changes. Get rid of the two parties, the electoral college, and use ranked voting. We’re close to getting rid of the popular vote, just need some more states to sign on.
Honestly its not their problem to create a new system that magically works. Its OK to just say the system sucks and we need to replace it. Americans are so caught up in perfection that we can’t see the good that a few actions can take to make the world more habitable.
The rent is too damn high guy has a point. Lower housing costs and even if you change nothing else, cost of living becomes far easier to manage.
Feel like donating to the cause? (The cause is that I would like a computer)
Scotland. Fucked. The terrifying thing I realised recently is how I can see the sharp decline in living standards pre-and-post covid. If we dont get a grip of it we’re backsliding toward Dickensian levels of poverty and deprivation.
Other thing I noticed recently - how most of our short-term problems can be linked to that cunt Trump. Iran war, tariffs, Ukraine etc. I say this to highlight to the Americans in the room that your political choices have implications far beyond your own borders. Theres fuck all I can do about him, but plenty you can do.
Hey the American progressives are trying but we’re not even our own party because of our two party system. Not to be a dick but I think other countries hold more power than Americans at keeping a senile dementia riddled Cheeto fuck in check. His congress and court aren’t.
