Economic News Thread | 3Q Annual GDP 2.8%

[CFordUNC]

I don’t think you understand. OKC is a REPUBLICAN city. Of course it’s doing well. It’s only the blue cities that are falling apart.

Facts not feelings!!!!!!

 

[Macksbrownies]

Same here! By design, I rarely check my non-taxable/retirement portfolio but did so while killing some time this morning. Up 36% from 1 year ago, and up 14% from 4 years ago.

Thanks Joe and Kamala!

I took out a 401k loan at the beginning of last year. As of today it has already surpassed the amount I had prior to the loan. Thanks Joe!

 

[CFordUNC]

I took out a 401k loan at the beginning of last year. As of today it has already surpassed the amount I had prior to the loan. Thanks Joe!

 

[Wolfslayer]

I suspect a lot of Americans would tell you that a household income between $100,001 - $150,000 (two teachers, for example) is middle class. To put it another way, most households that made more than $100,000/year (in 2022 dollars) in 1967 were probably single worker households with a stay-at-home parent (mom). If both spouses are working to make the same amount, they don't likely have the same quality of life as a single-earner household would due to added expenses (especially related to childcare, but cost of commuting, stress on schedules, cost of home upkeep).

This is us, I hold a BA from Carolina and an MEd and my wife holds a BS in Dental Hygiene from Carolina. With 3 kids, one in college and 2 still in high school, it seems that we live paycheck to paycheck. Half of my teacher pay goes to health insurance and the mortgage. I'll work until I die and dig my own grave to save the money.

Growing up in the 80's my parents both worked, my father is a mechanical engineer and my mother an RN. She worked more because she wanted to than needed to. We had twice the house I have, they paid for four private school and 3 college tuitions had 3 vehicles and bought a beach house before they were 45. My wife's father was a law professor at Campbell since almost its inception and they still live in the same house in Keith Hills but its been paid off for 20+ years. My MiL never worked. They didn't have the real estate my parents did but they traveled frequently and extensively and my wife and her sister graduated from Carolina debt-free.

 

[nycfan]

 

[nycfan]

Biden's Numbers, 2024 Pre-Election Update - FactCheck.org

Our latest quarterly report on various statistical indicators comes less than three weeks before Election Day.

www.factcheck.org

Biden — since Biden took office:

 

[nycfan]

 

[CFordUNC]

There’s been so much winning under Biden that I’ve gotten tired of all of this winning!

 

[heelinhell]

consumers might be beginning to "feel" it... buying new duds, eating out, and bellying up to the bar

Strong discretionary spending lifts US retail sales in September

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. retail sales increased solidly in September likely as lower gasoline prices gave consumers more money to spend at restaurants and bars, supporting the view that the economy maintained a strong growth pace in the third quarter. The slightly stronger-than-expected rise...

finance.yahoo.com

 

[uncgriff]

consumers might be beginning to "feel" it... buying new duds, eating out, and bellying up to the bar

Strong discretionary spending lifts US retail sales in September

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. retail sales increased solidly in September likely as lower gasoline prices gave consumers more money to spend at restaurants and bars, supporting the view that the economy maintained a strong growth pace in the third quarter. The slightly stronger-than-expected rise...

finance.yahoo.com

they won't believe any economic good news until dear leader can claim credit for it

 

[lawtig02]

consumers might be beginning to "feel" it... buying new duds, eating out, and bellying up to the bar

Strong discretionary spending lifts US retail sales in September

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. retail sales increased solidly in September likely as lower gasoline prices gave consumers more money to spend at restaurants and bars, supporting the view that the economy maintained a strong growth pace in the third quarter. The slightly stronger-than-expected rise...

finance.yahoo.com

From what I've seen, consumers have been going bonkers pretty much nonstop the last four years, even while many are complaining about inflation and grocery prices. Maybe it's ticking up a little more now, but it's not like most people have been pinching pennies recently.

 

[heelinhell]

they won't believe any economic good news until dear leader can claim credit for it

Yeah, if Trump becomes president, on February 1st we will suddenly have the greatest economy in the history of all mankind

 

[CFordUNC]

It is pretty amazing. The Obama economy sucked, but then as soon as January 21, 2017 rolled around, we had the greatest economy in the history of economies until around March 2020 when Sleepy Joe Biden apparently wrecked the economy while Trump was still President, and we've had the worst economy that has ever economy'd since March 2020, even though real world data shows that we are living in one of the greatest economic boom periods in American history over the last 2 years or so, and the economy is going to continue to suck until or unless Donald Trump assumes office again on January 21, 2025, when we will suddenly have the greatest economy anyone has ever seen, believe me, many people are saying it.

 

[lawtig02]

It is pretty amazing. The Obama economy sucked, but then as soon as January 21, 2017 rolled around, we had the greatest economy in the history of economies until around March 2020 when Sleepy Joe Biden apparently wrecked the economy while Trump was still President, and we've had the worst economy that has ever economy'd since March 2020, even though real world data shows that we are living in one of the greatest economic boom periods in American history over the last 2 years or so, and the economy is going to continue to suck until January 21, 2025 if Donald Trump assumes office again, when we will suddenly have the greatest economy anyone has ever seen, believe me, many people are saying it.

Yeah, I don't want to diminish the fact that economic gains have not been shared fairly, but the overall performance of our economy since 2014 or so has been nothing short of historically spectacular. The only blemish was 2020, on Trump's watch, although to be fair, even Trump didn't destroy the very strong economy he inherited from Obama. But what Biden has done since 2021 is truly astonishing. We've been gaslit for WAY too long by conservatives complaining about economic issues. There are problems that need to be addressed, to be sure. We don't have enough housing. Childcare costs are insanely high. The uber rich are taking way more from the system than they're contributing. But it should not even need to be said that America is not a "failing" country. We're doing very well, and we'll continue to do well as long as keep the government out of the hands of the kleptocrats.

 

[nycfan]

 

[superrific]

That's not actually true about MS versus Canada, UK etc., but it gets the main contours of the story correct.

 

[Paine]

All of those countries have a robust and well-functioning welfare state unlike the U.S.

Earnings aren’t the be all end all when Americans have to pay for so much more.

 

[finesse]

Pretty sure that's neither the audience or platform for nuance.

 

[superrific]

All of those countries have a robust and well-functioning welfare state unlike the U.S.

Earnings aren’t the be all end all when Americans have to pay for so much more.

This is one of the problems with cross-country comparisons. Another problem with this specific comparison is that state-level GDP isn't really a coherent concept. At most, you can use state-level GDP for comparisons of economy size, which isn't at all the same as average income or anything like that. But mostly, state-level GDP figures run into the same problem as measuring the economy of Ireland.

 

[TarHeeledTexan]

This is us, I hold a BA from Carolina and an MEd and my wife holds a BS in Dental Hygiene from Carolina. With 3 kids, one in college and 2 still in high school, it seems that we live paycheck to paycheck. Half of my teacher pay goes to health insurance and the mortgage. I'll work until I die and dig my own grave to save the money.

Growing up in the 80's my parents both worked, my father is a mechanical engineer and my mother an RN. She worked more because she wanted to than needed to. We had twice the house I have, they paid for four private school and 3 college tuitions had 3 vehicles and bought a beach house before they were 45. My wife's father was a law professor at Campbell since almost its inception and they still live in the same house in Keith Hills but its been paid off for 20+ years. My MiL never worked. They didn't have the real estate my parents did but they traveled frequently and extensively and my wife and her sister graduated from Carolina debt-free.

Just an observation. Your Dad was an engineer and you have a Masters of Education.

I have a Masters in Archaeology and am a senior manager doing environmental consulting for a large AE firm. My Dad has a Masters in Mechanical Engineering and worked for nearly 60 years in construction management before retiring two years ago at age 80. He made more money a year in the 1990s working as an expat in England and Asia than I make now 25+ years later, not adjusted for inflation.

The degree and the career path make a big difference.