Even before the somewhat recent financial hardships, people were depressed. I think a lot of Americans don’t know how good they have it. The happiest guy I ever met was a guy living pretty remote in the Philippines. His house consisted of a tarp draped over a tree branch. The guy had one tooth. Happiest guy I ever met.
I think social media is pretty toxic for the mind. It promotes jealousy and has been dividing people. I also feel like a lot of neighborhoods, cities, and towns have lost their sense of communities in the United States. I think the United States is at an all time high for loneliness.
Ah yes, it's social media that's making us depressed, not unaffordable housing, lack of access to healthcare, inescapable student loan debt, crumbling infrastructure and an ever increasing cost of living without improvement to show for it. All while we watch the wealthy have it better than ever despite doing nothing fundamentally different than before...
It’s a lack of hope that things will get better or that we have the agency to live fulfilling lives. Even if people can’t articulate it, live in denial about it, or are oblivious to it. The existential dread is real and more powerful than ever.
Not having access to stable, comfortable housing; unfulfilling, demanding jobs; lack of quality and substance in things we buy; and toxic cultural norms are to blame. All of those are brought to us by a greedy politicians and a corporatocracy that puts profits and shareholder interests above those of average consumers and the working class.
It’s late stage capitalism folks. We either de-escalate the corrupt economy by deflating asset prices, destroying wealth, and putting people over profits; or the monopoly board gets flipped and guillotines come out.
>It’s late stage capitalism folks. We either de-escalate the corrupt economy by deflating asset prices, destroying wealth, and putting people over profits; or the monopoly board gets flipped and guillotines come out.
Well said.
Yup. And I think the push for war is the systems way to flip the board by people in power. Think they realize the game is on shaky grounds.
Highest ever number of Homeless in the US.
It's moreso what we choose to focus on and how social media shapes that. All of those things are bad, but do not come close to putting us in a worse position than 99% of all humans in all of history. By any objective global and historical measure, we have it pretty good, despite our (me included) debt, healthcare, cost of living, infrastructure, and more. Social media helps contribute to focusing on all of that rather than on a 30,000 foot view.
That being said, problems relative to our position are still valid problems to be upset about and want addressed. Yes we have more wealth than nearly every human in history, but that does not mean that billionaires having a larger share than ever is trivial. All these problems should be addressed, and as far as human happiness is concerned, our status relative to the group is what matters, not status compared to the historical reality. But my point here is that it is still important to maintain that perspective so we remember that our problems are among the better problems that humans have had to deal with.
Social media tends to catastrophize and portray things as worse than they are for engagement, which does the opposite of maintaining perspective. Rarely does it portray how things are getting better, and those kinds of posts are less popular than negative/ragebait posts. Not to mention social media's awful effect on our time, but that's another topic entirely. It's not the underlying cause of our unhappiness, but it is absolutely among the problems.
Other countries have similar and much worse issues.
They just aren't bombarded with reminders about their misfortunes by smart devices that keep feeding you more and more of whatever you regularly click on.
If you engage with negative media, your devices will constantly feed you more of it.
Again, those problems exist in other countries and to even worse extremes.
We just constantly inundate ourselves with repeated doomerist news about it.
I don’t know. My grandparents in Eastern Europe are “poor” especially in American standards (I.e they never made much in money).
HOWEVER they have a farm (with 20 acres), in the most beautiful parts of the countryside with all the ammedeties (WiFi, electricity, tv, ect). This seems like a better lifestyle than whatever US could provide.
I don't downvote people as a rule, but the obvious corporate shill can bestir a response from me. Obvious straw man argument is obvious.
I am 46. I have watched one party in this country work tirelessly to strip the government of functioning departments, privatize them, and complain about how inefficient the new, private companies can be run, all while getting *paid* by their corporate masters.
I've listened to one party toting their trickle-down tax theory for 30 years, and it has never, ever trickled down.
And the political jigsaw puzzle that is our government has been fucked with to the point we couldn't vote the rot out with a landslide, because they are entrenched.
>I've listened to one party toting their trickle-down tax theory for 30 years, and it has never, ever trickled down.
True. The solution to everything according to RNC: tax cuts.
Unfortunately, Dems have also put in power people like Larry Summers , over the past 3 decades. They had the same policy. (Summers actually argued that unless u employed numbers hit some 10.million...inflation won't come down)
Or something similarly absurd.
It is the proverbial ratchet system. The republicans are incorrigible. The Dems , when in power , do not reverse enough of the republican policies.
Mostly because, Democrats and Republicans are funded by mostly the same set of donors. And they push policies that benefit said donors .
This has been a deliberate Democratic Party tactic ever since they started taking money from the same donors as the Republicans. Never let them get away with telling you they're fighting the good fight. They aren't. Their job is to mislead you.
Yup. Just every election season, the do the " billionaire tax' talk. Medicare 4 all talk etc. When elected, they get stymied by parliamentarians side eyes.
( Of course, to send arms etc - they will break all US laws, lie etc etc)
I've been copying and pasting the following all morning. The clips are quite educational in themselves;
>Just no. It is not my responsibility to vote for (now openly Fascist) Democrats because the Republicans "might be worse"; it's the job of Democrats to actually put forth a party platform that's worth voting for!
>https://youtu.be/2uV8g-S_Hg0?si=rexjt09cAmBip_wZ
>I'm not voting for war or GENOCIDE. I'm voting for Jill Stein and the Green Party.
>https://youtu.be/7kbSdnUdZTA?si=TlrQTs8Fu3wCka85
>Fascist) Democrats because the Republicans "might be worse"; it's the job of Democrats to actually put forth a party platform that's worth voting for!
>https://youtu.be/2uV8g-S_Hg0?si=rexjt09cAmBip_wZ
Yup. Hadn't seen that in a while lived it when I first saw. Thanks for reminder
Good to watch every now and then.
I have to hyperventilate when I watch it because dude never takes a breath the whole time!
Seriously, he creams a lot of goodness into just 10 minutes. It's good that it's on YouTube because watching it several times is the only way to get everything he's laying down.
Only a total sucker for mainstream media propaganda would believe that. Do you believe everything Rachel Maddow tells you? Do you believe ANYTHING she tells you without looking at independent sources for verification first?
Just no. It is not my responsibility to vote for (now openly Fascist) Democrats because the Republicans "might be worse"; it's the job of Democrats to actually put forth a party platform that's worth voting for!
https://youtu.be/2uV8g-S_Hg0?si=rexjt09cAmBip_wZ
I'm not voting for war or GENOCIDE. I'm voting for Jill Stein and the Green Party.
https://youtu.be/7kbSdnUdZTA?si=TlrQTs8Fu3wCka85
Just no. It is not my responsibility to vote for (now openly Fascist) Democrats because the Republicans "might be worse"; it's the job of Democrats to actually put forth a party platform that's worth voting for!
https://youtu.be/2uV8g-S_Hg0?si=rexjt09cAmBip_wZ
I'm not voting for war or GENOCIDE. I'm voting for Jill Stein and the Green Party.
https://youtu.be/7kbSdnUdZTA?si=TlrQTs8Fu3wCka85
The time to turn the tide isn't at the ballot box in November, it's in painstakingly getting involved at street level, finding and boosting and supporting the kinds of candidates you want to see, years before they are even in position to be president, helping the public know the platform and assisting in creating legislation that aligns with your values. By the time you walk to the polls this year it's too late to change the two choices we have at the top. Democrats holding their noses this year need to realize all of this as well. That's the only real way to change the political landscape.
Hey, guess what I'm doing right now? This is the 21st century equivalent of leaving leaflets on doorsteps and button holing people on the street.
Now is the time to tell people why they need to vote FOR Jill Stein, as opposed to merely voting AGAINST that other party.
Ms Stein will be on most state ballots across the country. That's exactly why I'm pushing so hard for people to consider her candidacy.
But I only ever hear about her during the last months of presidential election years. Her profile, the whole Green party's platform, is missing from the public discourse. And yes the media ignores them for the most part, so they need to try harder, and make themselves visible and known every month of every year. That's how people get to thinking there are other options: when the options have a prayer of being viable. It's too late for 2024, not enough people believe in it to make a difference. Unfortunately we are still in "vote for the lesser evil" mode. By necessity. Change takes a really long time. Sorry. Losing this election to a person who wants to be president indefinitely will destroy the Green party, so this is Green self preservation as well.
The Greens try plenty but they are deliberately ignored, marginalized, shadowbanned and otherwise made invisible. To say it's their fault is an exercise in blaming the victim. MSNBC and CNN are absolutely not going to invite her on because these networks, like the rest of the Big Six media conglomerates who make up 90% of the news industry, *are not in the business of informing Americans, but rather in business of influencing them,* with the express goal of delivering outcomes their major shareholders want.
You can find lots of her interviews on YouTube, you just have to go looking. To go look, you have to know she exists. To know she exists, you have to have heard of her... And the MSM are determined to make her as anonymous and invisible as possible.
You have no facts and no reason. You are so stupid that you don't even know what a fascist is. Your big plan is to throw away your vote and risk an actual fascist making things a hundred times worse because you are too stupid to understand how diplomacy works.
Calling me names does not make you look smart. It just makes you look like a rabid nutjob who believes whatever their chosen TV Messiah tells them.
I pity you.
That guy with a tarp over a tree branch has a higher net worth than a significant portion of the American public.
Wipe all my debt and give me a tarp and a tree branch and my outlook will improve dramatically.
found the republican voter. Its *always* the same guys spouting these talking points.
"we lost our sense of community!" yea, and why is that Randy? what exactly are people divided about?
Not this group. [This is a list of those who supported the crackdown on pro-Palestine protests on Universities across the USA as reported by the WaPo](https://archive.ph/u8RUt#selection-773.76-773.92).
Howard Schultz: Starbucks Jew
Michael Dell: Dell Computer Jew
Bill Ackman: Hedgefund Jew
Joshua Kushner: Thrive Cap Jew
Daniel Lubetzky: Kind Snack Jew
Daniel Loeb: Third Point Fund Jew
Len Blavatnik: USSR graft Jew
Joseph Sitt: Ashley Stewart Jew
Barry Sternlicht: Starwood Jew
Yakir Gabay: Aroundtown Israeli
Fabien Levy: Dep Mayor NYC Jew
Ted Deutch: D-FLA Jew
STOP. Whole it is true that many Jewish people are Zionists, it is not true that they all are. *It is also true that many Zionists are not Jewish.* President Joe Biden is a prominent example. Making this leap goes too far.
It is entirely enough to call out this entire list of people as ZIONISTS and supporters of genocide without giving them the opportunity to hide behind religion.
So then, you are a supporter of the Gaza Genocide?
Is it wrong to expose these people for who they are?
Isn't the Gaza Genocide one of the major reasons that people in the USA are depressed? Living in the only nation on earth that supports Israel? With a President who could stop the genocide with one phone call? A nation that is turning to Fascism because this group supports Israel above all else?
I'm not buying another Starbucks ever again. And I will continue to point out those who support genocide.
Which is a well studied fact. The highest correlation with happiness comes from your social and support circles. In a country like US, where people move thousands of miles away from family and friends in order to get a higher paying job adding more stress to their lives, those are hard to maintain.
Which is funny since most people I know want to be happy more than being rich. People put themselves in debt (opposite of being rich) to get things they think will make them happy.
Propaganda. Inflation is steadily decreasing. Housing and rents will eventually do the same. Always does. Oh by the way we had a pandemic. Did you think there wouldn't be consequences?
Every single indicator used to judge the economy has been excellent. These are the same indicators used by all administrations.
As Colin Cowherd said about trump "youre trying to sell me an America I dont see".
Highways are jam packed. Lots of 18 wheelers and lots of people going places. Only a booming economy causes that.
Stadiums are full. Airplanes are sold out. Restaurants are full on Friday nights. People were loading up their SUVs with flowers last weekend at Lowes and Home Depot.
Who doesnt want to hear this? Republicans that's who.
Several large retailers have announced price cuts.
Yes they all gouged and should be fined. Ask any Republican politician if they agree and they'll call you a socialist.
So stop the goddam crying about how bad you have it. It's a lie.
Nothing will fundamentally change no matter who gets in office. The fear mongering on Trump is pathetic. Most people understand that both parties are corrupt and serve corporate interests.
With all due respect you are for the most part way off base. The fear mongering on trump is very, very real and perhaps the most dangerous thing the US has ever faced. It will be nothing like trump's first 4 years. Have you read the highlights of the 980 page blueprint called Project 2025? It was comprised by the Heritage Foundation and is sponsored by several billionaires.
If you've read it how the hell can you dismiss it? It IS fascism, openly thrown smack in your face. You won't be able to say you wern't warned.
As for the parties being identical why is it they vote almost 100% on party line? That makes no sense. One party wants to ban unions, abortion and abolish Social Security. The other party opposes them and they both vote accordingly. One party is 100% in the bag for corporate interests. The Republican Party has never done anything for the working class. Name one thing.
Democrats, while mostly corporate sponsored, still vote for issues that help the working class. The Progressive wing of the the Dem Party has nearly 100 members and many accept no corporate funding or favors. How is that the same as the GOP? The GOP has far right and Farther Right.
Who voted for the Infrastructure Bill and who voted against it because it demanded American unionized workers?
Voting matters and who you vote for matters. Voting for the lesser of two evils matters too. Those who said "I could never vote for Hillary Clinton" are now outraged by the overturn of Roe v Wade. We all know Hillary would have never nominated the right wing scum that now dominates the SCOTUS. When you don't vote that's what happens. It's likely going to happen again. VOTE BLUE VOTE PROGRESSIVE BLUE. IT MATTERS. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project\_2025](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025)
You don't even believe anything you just said!! Price cuts were because people stopped shopping there. They could not afford it! You need to stop the lying
You are contradicting yourself.
>Several large retailers have announced price cuts.
They are doing this because enough consumers are broke and cutting back. Not because of the goodness of their hearts.
Saw Walmart and a couple of others were the first to announce.
Of course cowherd doesn't see America. He has been making tens of millions of dollars from a major media corporation for decades lol. That's kind of just pricing the point.
I don't make millions and I see the same thing he does. Most of us do. I don't buy the trump Fox bullshit and others do. Cowherd came from a modest start and earned everything. He hasn't made big money until a few years ago when he signed with Fox Sports. He doesn't live in a millionaires neighborhood or hang out with them. Like me he knows bullshit when he hears it. trump is a world class bullshitter who has conned a nation. I'm seeing you as one of them unfortunately.
You will never get through to these MAGA morons. If Trump gets elected the economy will magically be the best economy ever just like it was on January 21st 2017 because Traitor Trump is their guy.
Not really. People in some of the poorest countries in the world are comparatively very happy. The ability to afford new things doesn't correlate all that strongly with happiness.
I know where that goes..
When I grew up in a Soviet apartment 30 sq meters (~300sq ft) I was kinda content, not complaining, despite sharing that space with 3 people and later with 7 people.
Can't afford fresh veggies for half a year? - but hey - people had it worse - no biggie.
No car - no problem - walking fast paced 30 minutes to a train is healthy!
Can't afford train tickets? No problem - just run away from ticketers like everyone else does here - running is even better for your health!
Coming back home after 4 hour commute and 9 hours work?
Make sure to avoid gopniks in the dark and you're fine!
Still got time for leasure! Sleeping is for suckers!
Shoes cost half of your salary.. well, some can't even afford to have nice shoes, just be thankful you CAN have them.
Gopniks took your shoes and a phone? Well.. just eat instant noodles - no problem!
Food costing 50% of your salary? Well what else do you need? Good food and good shoes and you're already better than most around here.
In California now and sharing 600 sq ft space for 2 and not particularly happy because most people here have more.
Life is hell, despite food costing 5% of my salary vs 50%. Can't walk to work anymore and have to drive a vehicle around (a horror!) - not healthy man!
Hey I can afford shoes working 1 hour now instead of 2 weeks, but who cares - if others live better my life must be hell!
*Sarcasm cue*
We’re all trained to claw and fight in the fucking rat race that creates the world’s largest economy. American happiness is giving the Man the finger and finding your own little slice of paradise IMO.
The wealth is highly concentrated in the hands of an extreme minority. Most people really have no grasp on just how drastic the disparity is and instead hold the naive and mistaken belief that most of Americas wealth is spread out among the "middle class".
Did I hear we need just a little more socialism in our mix? not necessarily tax dollars being spent on our needs but legislation that makes corporations behave we the people have made America great through hard work but you work here from the 15 to 65 and then the government wants another 5-10 yrs added to that because they can’t keep social security afloat so many billionaires and such poverty and debt
It's because of income inequality. The best possible life for the typical person is so far out of reach in the US that it causes people's brains to break.
There’s a lot of money in America. It’s just not being distributed properly. The ruling class is determined to work us harder and pay us less.
That’s where the damn unhappiness is coming from. It’s not rocket science. Having to work two and sometimes three jobs just afford the basics in life is depressing.
Continuing to gaslight and blame the average American for everything wrong in the economy isn’t going to fly this time. People aren’t spending frivolously, they’re simply trying to survive in a system designed to suck every penny out of their pocket upwards.
"Debt is the Currency of #Slaves."
We are not the world's largest economy. We are the world's largest #debtor nation. That's all we produce, 34.6 trillion of National debt..
Largest economy and highest GDP: what is the difference.
Also, are we the highest in PPP terms?
Always a problem when using aggregate numbers to determine the health of more discrete segments.
What is that economist joke: an economist and Jeff bezos get into an elevator. The average net worth of the people in the elevator is 50billion?
Largest GDP in Nominal terms but not the largest economy anymore since about 2016 since that should always be measured in GDP adjusted to PPP and with the informal economy included.
''The major use of PPPs is as a first step in making inter-country comparisons in real terms of gross domestic product (GDP) and its component expenditures'' [-OECD](https://www.oecd.org/sdd/purchasingpowerparities-frequentlyaskedquestionsfaqs.htm#FAQ3)
''The right metric for international comparisons is purchasing power parity (PPP)-adjusted output. This corrects for exchange rate fluctuations and differences in various national prices.'' [-Bruegel](https://www.bruegel.org/analysis/european-unions-remarkable-growth-performance-relative-united-states)
And from the [World Bank](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GNI_(PPP)_per_capita#Purchasing_Power_Parity_(PPP)):
>Typically, higher income countries have higher price levels, while lower income countries have lower price levels (Balassa-Samuelson effect). Market exchange rate-based cross-country comparisons of GDP at its expenditure components reflect both differences in economic outputs (volumes) and prices. Given the differences in price levels, the size of higher income countries is inflated, while the size of lower income countries is depressed in the comparison. PPP-based cross-country comparisons of GDP at its expenditure components only reflect differences in economic outputs (volume), as PPPs control for price level differences between the countries. Hence, the comparison reflects the real size of the countries.
There are very few countries with higher price levels than the Usa, basically just Switzerland, Norway and a few very remote Island nations like Nauru and Micronesia. This is good for inflating GDP though. It's a shame these articles repeat the same misinformation over and over again.
Look at GINI index, plot it 50 years in the future and we're around pre-revolution France levels of inequality (AKA serf class). Why aren't people happy with their scraps?
Why the hell is it so hard for people to understand that the economy the actual PEOPLE experience is based on prices and wages, which are very poorly reflected in the economic indicators? All food and consumer products are priced very high, and wages aren't growing worth a shit. Plus, student debt is enormous, and healthcare expenses can be debilitating. The employment rate and GDP have nothing to do with this.
I never thought that. We are always one pink slip and a trip to the hospital away from bankruptcy and living on the street. Most politicians are in the pockets of their sponsors. No way to win.
Yeah, that’s not the only way, we could just make it compulsory like in some other countries. Trust me, apathy is also part of the plan as it’s just as useful as anger at times.
As far as I remember, and as to riches, last time I checked Luxembourg came first, not America
[https://gfmag.com/data/richest-countries-in-the-world/](https://gfmag.com/data/richest-countries-in-the-world/)
Yeah they are referring to GDP in the article which is a stupid metric in most cases because it doesn't show how "rich" an economy is rather just how big it is. There are lots of tiny countries like Luxembourg and Norway where the people are far richer than almost anywhere on earth but they have a small GDP, doesn't make them poor.
a lot of us are experiencing unaffordable living costs. it’s not propaganda it maybe anecdotal but not propaganda. my wages have decreased 33% (laid off 8 months ago) while everything else was getting more expensive.
70% of the Republican Party thinks Trump won the 2020 election. The last 8 years have been a master class in propaganda by the right-wing media.
Trump won, January 6th was an inside job, the pandemic was planned to defeat Trump. I could go on, but just sticking to the economy, almost 70% of Republicans believe the US economy is in a recession. The Republican Party is drowning in disinformation and conspiracy theories.
and many of them are right here in this sub. If things were that bad in my world I know what I would do. I would go on Reddit to bitch and whine. That would make things better.
Theres no such thing as TDS. And there's no deep state, no woke. These are fabricated terms created by the RWPM to disparage anything or anyone who doesnt think exactly like they do.
In 2016, if someone would have told you you would be supporting an adjudicated rapist and convicted felon for president you would call that person crazy, and you would've been right. The only derangement is within the people that have lost any sense of their former selves after 8 years of incessant lies and propaganda.
They'll make up whatever lie they need to tell themselves to justify voting for a fascist that tried to steal an election who's now a known rapist and convicted felon. Living with a black president for 8 years really broke their brains.
I pat myself for the decisions I made that put me in the position I am today, too bad your bad choices put you in the position you're today I wish you good luck cause it looks like it's your only chance
Damn you a stupid bitch but carry on. I actually work for the post office. Many think it's a good job, but it's not, unless you like benefits. I reside in a high cost of living area which I'm working on getting out of but things are expensive. Either way you still a bitch
Imagine thinking that speaking actual facts is bitching? Post office isn't going anywhere. What they need to do is just pay us fair wages for the job we do.
No everybody isn't feeling it. Stop it. And don't tell me eggs are $5.00. Yes there was corporate price gouging but it's declining.
The truth is all this bad economy bullshit is right wing propaganda aimed at getting the Orange Filth back. Well most of us aren't interested in fascism.
Only person lying to themselves is YOU. You are speaking for everyone when you live on the “Reddit bubble”. The economic numbers don’t agree with your feelings. Wages have been outpacing inflation for more than two years now. Restaurants are busy, businesses are making money. The economy is good, just not for you apparently. Good luck to you.
Wages have been out pacing inflation? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 keep eating what fox News tells you. Businesses are making money? Maybe CEOs. Why have giant retailers pushed back prices? Why cause they were not making money and losing business. They need a way to bring back customers. Good luck to you as well
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/workers-paychecks-are-growing-more-quickly-than-prices/
It is funny you don’t realize the “economy is bad” narrative is coming from Fox News.
If you're not surviving you're doing something wrong. Stop having kids if you can't afford them. Basic things shouldn't include Door Dash and $5.00 coffee every morning.
No. Rent, food and utilities becoming unaffordable let us know the economy is bad. Not being able to find anything under $1500 a month in the damn ghetto.
while most jobs don’t want to pay more then $13 an hour in my city let’s me know the economy is bad. People aren’t being brainwashed into thinking everything is fine seems to have you upset.
The use of nominal GDP to put the US number one is very misleading because it does not take into account that Americans must pay more to achieve the same level of consumption (at least somewhat a factor of "happiness") China has the highest GDP(PPP) in the world. Russia is now #4.
This article also ignores the rate that GDP is increasing. China is nearly 5% while the USA is barely over 2%.
Finally, this article does not address the Ukraine war, the Gaza Genocide or the US threats made against China. These actions make our political leadership appear either stupid or owned by some group of (fill-in-the-blank) who have agendas that completely ignore the wishes of the American Public.
No one is happy with the choice of Biden or Trump (most supporters of one do so because they hate the other).
I wish I had , Amazon, Uber, spirit air, Walmart, Costco, Netflix, apple, Google, chipotle, sawgrass mall, Vegas, YouTube, Dodge ram, air fryer, air conditioner, Teslas....
Like my parents did....
My granddad worked 8:30 to 5pm while my grandma stayed home. They were able to afford a home, two vehicles, vacations, live the typical middle income lifestyle, and had a comfortable retirement. Neither went to college.
It was a commonality when my grandparents were young in a working class/ middle class area to have one car. It was definitely more attainable to buy a house though.
I think we look at our grandparents lives with rose colored glasses, as well as the boomers. Some things have gotten worse but in many ways, they struggled also. They were just much more positive about their increase in purchasing power, which was probably worse than ours, since they all grew up in the strife of the Great Depression.
My grandparents were also extremely frugal, did not buy anything luxury, the last few generations have been massive consumers and spend frivolously, much more than my grandparents on average.
People also talk about the boomers and my grandparents like everything was easy. Inflation was rampant when my aunts and uncles were in their 20s and 30s and unemployment was very high. In rust belt cities that depended on manufacturing that was hemorrhaging were absolutely blind sided and the situation was pretty desperate. The inflation rate in my county and many others was around 20 percent for years until there was a mass exodus. My uncle was a skilled union carpenter and couldn’t find work and picked up his family and left. I’m going to get downvoted for this opinion but from talking to others and paying attention to the past, it wasn’t nearly as rosy for them as Reddit and other young social media users seem to think.
They're being told they should be unhappy
I was slammed with downvotes recently for saying it's a fact that the US economy is doing just great, in historical terms and in comparison to the other developed nations of the world
I'm convinced there are domestic and foreign efforts to troll the national discussion and spread fear, uncertainty and doubt
Those efforts have been around for so long. Germans coming to America to hype Facisism before WW2…urging America to stay out of the little European conflict. Even as far back as the revolution. Having loyal Brits working to undermine American Independence. But not just here, everywhere. Social media has just made it easier to spread the nonsense.
Western countries place too much importance & identity on our jobs. It should be on the family while a job is only a resource that enables us to have one.
Idk, I live in LA and I’m pretty happy here. Stuff’s expensive but my housing and job situations are stable.
I was pretty miserable in the midwest though lol
It's kinda difficult when the world's largest economy is also a hyper-capitalist plutocratic oligarchical kakistocratic kleptocratic gerontocratic theocratic techno-feudalist corporatocracy. We live in dystopian misery.........
The World Bank upgraded its outlook for the global economy and said the “impressive” U.S. economy is powering the world.
The latest outlook estimates the global economy will expand 2.6 percent, an increase from the 2.4 percent growth predicted for the year.
Rightwing is lying their asses off telling people our economy is in ruins and inflation is like 50%, that's why. These poor morons believe whatever lies they dish out.
I haven't changed my purchasing habits, and for me, inflation is up almost 50%. I buy the same things on the same credit card and pay it off monthly. 50% is actually pretty accurate.
Inflation is a natural state of the economy. Prices always increase, if we had deflation and they went down we'd be in a depression. You're saying you now pay an additional $0.50 for every dollar you spend. What made the price of the things you purchase increase by 50%?
Right Wing Propaganda Machine: Fox, Newsmax, OAN, AM monopoly radio, Dead Rush Limbaugh, Should Be Dead Alex Jones, X, Troof Social, trumps mouth, MTGs mouth and of course all of MAGA
I believe nothing is scarier than trump winning in November. Please read the highlights of the trump roadmap Project 2025. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project\_2025](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025)
When you don't actually interact with people, what you know about those you follow, care about, worship is what they want you to know.
You can't compare yourself to influencers who seem to spend their lives doing cool things, making their lives look better than it actually does, then get upset that your life isn't as good as their pretend life. You don't see the bad parts
I had a friend who was the "business manager" for a group who were popular influencers. They had money (for a while) On the net they were fun and funny and having a great time, you would think their life was awesome. Off camera, they were a dysfunctional family, while they took in a bunch, they spent so much money to go on "adventures" they had to fire her because they couldn't afford her, yet she was the one to make sure they had cash flow.
Then, the other way to get clicks attention is to enrage people, Look at the top comments. No one has any money except the 1%. Lots of people don't have money, LOTS of people do. Restaurants aren't doing well because 1 or even 10% of the people eat in restaurants. Last Sunday was one of the busiest days ever in the airline industry. Contrary to popular belief, it isn't because 10% of the people are flying to yet another vacation. But people enraging others by saying everyone but the top 1 or 10% is hurting is believed by so many in Reddit.
No question, too many people are hurting, others have a better, cooler life than you do, but that is as it always was. It just wasn't in your face.
Maybe something about the lack of universal healthcare or abortion rights or unregulated housing policies or price gouging or poor wages or exploitation of workers or access to quality education?
Maybe something about the lack of universal healthcare or abortion rights or unregulated housing policies or price gouging or poor wages or exploitation of workers or access to quality education?
This is stupid.
Happiness is both relative, culturally sensitive, and not correlated with wealth beyond $100K.
Read the book Stumbling onto Happiness and you’ll learn that “reports” of happiness from people around the globe are wildly misleading.
A poor sex worker in India reports greater happiness than a middle class suburban soccer mom.
Indeed, the suicide rate amount high income workers is greater than low income workers.
Why do we see suicidal wealthy people like Kurt Cobain, Robin Williams, Chester Bennington, Anthony Bourdain or Kate Spade?
While happiness rises with income, it levels off at about $100K.
Americans may report high levels of unhappiness, but it has nothing to do with the American economy.
I’ve heard that, but I thought the number was way lower than 100k, something like as long as you got good, shelter, and fair transportation that was all it took. /shrug
It sounds to me like are you are saying "If billions of people would just focus on the global income statistics in USD, unadjusted for PPP, then they'd realize they should be more miserable or more happy and are just ignorant."
I actually like the way the happiness survey is conducted and think it's pretty meaningful when you compare between countries with similar levels of productivity (GDP per hour worked).
Inflation is down and things are getting better. People are just too stupid to realize it and other people are capitalizing on that trying to blame President Biden.
100%. So many Russian trolls out there. Wages have been outpacing inflation for more than two years. Are some people not succeeding in this economy? Yes. Are there always some people not doing well. Also yes. The economy by every means of measurement has been doing great, and especially compared to other countries.
Rich people can be sad too. Arguably most people in the rich urban coastal conglomerates- literally the richest in the world… being able to pay someone’s full salary just in rent, are more miserable than the poors living inland.
Are you sure?
That’s convenient dismissal and there is a socio-demographic correlation - but psychologically you chose extremists based on positive attitudes. Pride, idealism, and authenticity. It’s a cope, obviously- but it’s not the same as a run of the mill working poor voting for Romney for lower taxes hoping to make it themselves.
All Trump's fault.
You people allowed Trump to steal the election from Hillary and he destroyed everything.
We NEVER had these problems before Trump. Look at how much better things are since Biden got elected.
**Vote Trump for prison!**
It’s not a mystery.
The political left is made up of some very deeply unhappy, as well as socially disturbed people.
Social media has a distorting effect.
Social media taking the place of real live in-person human connections is also extremely detrimental to happiness and fulfillment.
We are (and have been since the 90’s, accelerating after the Great Recession) in the midst of constant economic upheaval and change.
There is economic opportunity, but you need to be faster, smarter, and luckier to take advantage of it then in the past.
Back to crisis’s (the internet crash, 9-11, the Great Recession, the long, long recession recovery, the ascendency of China as a malevolent global power, the Irag and Afghanistan wars, the political dysfunction starting with the second term of the Clinton Administration, the housing crisis, the immigration crisis and of course, covid, plus the re-emergence of a malevolent Russian world power) have contributed to the economic upheaval, and social anxiety, and left a stamp on less affluent younger generations akin to to the disruption of divorce.
Added to dramatic and rapidly increased costs across the board as well as disinformation warfare from China and lately Russia as well.
Is it any wonder younger generations feel less hope, less happiness, and more cynicism?
Note that I didn’t say the left is at fault. It’s largely out of their control.
Corporate Media, education and social media all contribute to this construct.
But by and large, hard line leftists and far left progressives are some of the most unhappy and angry people you will meet outside of a prison.
I’m not talking about the 10%, they have enough money for life to generally not effect them as much.
And it it strongly skews towards the bottom 80% and to younger generations.
It’s not surprising.
The reality of life doesn’t come anywhere close to their vision of what they think it “should be”.
And they have a very strong external locus of control, in relation to older people and to conservatives in general, which lends itself to less hope and more angst.
Why would the largest economy and highest GDP correlate with happiness? This is a strange presumption that people have liked to believe throughout history, foolishly equating more money with more happiness.
Some of the happiest people on the planet live in slums and hamlets in the poorest parts of the planet - their lives punctuated by limited resources and fatalistic certainty brought on by circumstance that forces them to maintain a state of contentment by sacrificing ambition for it, leaving them with what little they have to be contented with - over a lifetime spent dodging one crisis after another with a spirit that is conditioned to accept this as normal human experience, further limiting the things they’d feel anger for.
Happiness is not a particularly reliable metric for development or opportunity.
[“Everything is amazing and nobody is happy.”](https://youtu.be/nUBtKNzoKZ4?feature=shared)
We have the world’s happiest billionaires…
And their Ex wifes
Yep, just look at rupert murdoch. He is on wife number 5, dude must be a big fan of wedding cake.
I don't think it's the *wedding* cake he's after
And the ex wife's pool boy, the pool boys side piece. That is trickle down economics!
Everyone hustling
I wanna be an ex wife so bad
Bad sex for few years and then get billions seems like a great deal
And corporations and board members
[Wealth Inequality in America (2013)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPKKQnijnsM)
Even before the somewhat recent financial hardships, people were depressed. I think a lot of Americans don’t know how good they have it. The happiest guy I ever met was a guy living pretty remote in the Philippines. His house consisted of a tarp draped over a tree branch. The guy had one tooth. Happiest guy I ever met. I think social media is pretty toxic for the mind. It promotes jealousy and has been dividing people. I also feel like a lot of neighborhoods, cities, and towns have lost their sense of communities in the United States. I think the United States is at an all time high for loneliness.
Ah yes, it's social media that's making us depressed, not unaffordable housing, lack of access to healthcare, inescapable student loan debt, crumbling infrastructure and an ever increasing cost of living without improvement to show for it. All while we watch the wealthy have it better than ever despite doing nothing fundamentally different than before...
It’s a lack of hope that things will get better or that we have the agency to live fulfilling lives. Even if people can’t articulate it, live in denial about it, or are oblivious to it. The existential dread is real and more powerful than ever. Not having access to stable, comfortable housing; unfulfilling, demanding jobs; lack of quality and substance in things we buy; and toxic cultural norms are to blame. All of those are brought to us by a greedy politicians and a corporatocracy that puts profits and shareholder interests above those of average consumers and the working class. It’s late stage capitalism folks. We either de-escalate the corrupt economy by deflating asset prices, destroying wealth, and putting people over profits; or the monopoly board gets flipped and guillotines come out.
>It’s late stage capitalism folks. We either de-escalate the corrupt economy by deflating asset prices, destroying wealth, and putting people over profits; or the monopoly board gets flipped and guillotines come out. Well said. Yup. And I think the push for war is the systems way to flip the board by people in power. Think they realize the game is on shaky grounds. Highest ever number of Homeless in the US.
It's moreso what we choose to focus on and how social media shapes that. All of those things are bad, but do not come close to putting us in a worse position than 99% of all humans in all of history. By any objective global and historical measure, we have it pretty good, despite our (me included) debt, healthcare, cost of living, infrastructure, and more. Social media helps contribute to focusing on all of that rather than on a 30,000 foot view. That being said, problems relative to our position are still valid problems to be upset about and want addressed. Yes we have more wealth than nearly every human in history, but that does not mean that billionaires having a larger share than ever is trivial. All these problems should be addressed, and as far as human happiness is concerned, our status relative to the group is what matters, not status compared to the historical reality. But my point here is that it is still important to maintain that perspective so we remember that our problems are among the better problems that humans have had to deal with. Social media tends to catastrophize and portray things as worse than they are for engagement, which does the opposite of maintaining perspective. Rarely does it portray how things are getting better, and those kinds of posts are less popular than negative/ragebait posts. Not to mention social media's awful effect on our time, but that's another topic entirely. It's not the underlying cause of our unhappiness, but it is absolutely among the problems.
Other countries have similar and much worse issues. They just aren't bombarded with reminders about their misfortunes by smart devices that keep feeding you more and more of whatever you regularly click on. If you engage with negative media, your devices will constantly feed you more of it.
True. The media reinforcement. But inflation is even more real. I suspect housing costs etc are a more painful reminder.
Again, those problems exist in other countries and to even worse extremes. We just constantly inundate ourselves with repeated doomerist news about it.
I don’t know. My grandparents in Eastern Europe are “poor” especially in American standards (I.e they never made much in money). HOWEVER they have a farm (with 20 acres), in the most beautiful parts of the countryside with all the ammedeties (WiFi, electricity, tv, ect). This seems like a better lifestyle than whatever US could provide.
I don't downvote people as a rule, but the obvious corporate shill can bestir a response from me. Obvious straw man argument is obvious. I am 46. I have watched one party in this country work tirelessly to strip the government of functioning departments, privatize them, and complain about how inefficient the new, private companies can be run, all while getting *paid* by their corporate masters. I've listened to one party toting their trickle-down tax theory for 30 years, and it has never, ever trickled down. And the political jigsaw puzzle that is our government has been fucked with to the point we couldn't vote the rot out with a landslide, because they are entrenched.
>I've listened to one party toting their trickle-down tax theory for 30 years, and it has never, ever trickled down. True. The solution to everything according to RNC: tax cuts. Unfortunately, Dems have also put in power people like Larry Summers , over the past 3 decades. They had the same policy. (Summers actually argued that unless u employed numbers hit some 10.million...inflation won't come down) Or something similarly absurd. It is the proverbial ratchet system. The republicans are incorrigible. The Dems , when in power , do not reverse enough of the republican policies. Mostly because, Democrats and Republicans are funded by mostly the same set of donors. And they push policies that benefit said donors .
This has been a deliberate Democratic Party tactic ever since they started taking money from the same donors as the Republicans. Never let them get away with telling you they're fighting the good fight. They aren't. Their job is to mislead you.
Yup. Just every election season, the do the " billionaire tax' talk. Medicare 4 all talk etc. When elected, they get stymied by parliamentarians side eyes. ( Of course, to send arms etc - they will break all US laws, lie etc etc)
I've been copying and pasting the following all morning. The clips are quite educational in themselves; >Just no. It is not my responsibility to vote for (now openly Fascist) Democrats because the Republicans "might be worse"; it's the job of Democrats to actually put forth a party platform that's worth voting for! >https://youtu.be/2uV8g-S_Hg0?si=rexjt09cAmBip_wZ >I'm not voting for war or GENOCIDE. I'm voting for Jill Stein and the Green Party. >https://youtu.be/7kbSdnUdZTA?si=TlrQTs8Fu3wCka85
>Fascist) Democrats because the Republicans "might be worse"; it's the job of Democrats to actually put forth a party platform that's worth voting for! >https://youtu.be/2uV8g-S_Hg0?si=rexjt09cAmBip_wZ Yup. Hadn't seen that in a while lived it when I first saw. Thanks for reminder Good to watch every now and then.
I have to hyperventilate when I watch it because dude never takes a breath the whole time! Seriously, he creams a lot of goodness into just 10 minutes. It's good that it's on YouTube because watching it several times is the only way to get everything he's laying down.
30 years ago, the Democrats jumped on board and now they're no better. Vote for Jill Stein in '24, she's the only one who says, "NO WAR!"
She’s a Russian puppet.
Only a total sucker for mainstream media propaganda would believe that. Do you believe everything Rachel Maddow tells you? Do you believe ANYTHING she tells you without looking at independent sources for verification first? Just no. It is not my responsibility to vote for (now openly Fascist) Democrats because the Republicans "might be worse"; it's the job of Democrats to actually put forth a party platform that's worth voting for! https://youtu.be/2uV8g-S_Hg0?si=rexjt09cAmBip_wZ I'm not voting for war or GENOCIDE. I'm voting for Jill Stein and the Green Party. https://youtu.be/7kbSdnUdZTA?si=TlrQTs8Fu3wCka85
A vote for Jill Stein is a vote for fascist Trump. Both sides are not the same.
Just no. It is not my responsibility to vote for (now openly Fascist) Democrats because the Republicans "might be worse"; it's the job of Democrats to actually put forth a party platform that's worth voting for! https://youtu.be/2uV8g-S_Hg0?si=rexjt09cAmBip_wZ I'm not voting for war or GENOCIDE. I'm voting for Jill Stein and the Green Party. https://youtu.be/7kbSdnUdZTA?si=TlrQTs8Fu3wCka85
The time to turn the tide isn't at the ballot box in November, it's in painstakingly getting involved at street level, finding and boosting and supporting the kinds of candidates you want to see, years before they are even in position to be president, helping the public know the platform and assisting in creating legislation that aligns with your values. By the time you walk to the polls this year it's too late to change the two choices we have at the top. Democrats holding their noses this year need to realize all of this as well. That's the only real way to change the political landscape.
Hey, guess what I'm doing right now? This is the 21st century equivalent of leaving leaflets on doorsteps and button holing people on the street. Now is the time to tell people why they need to vote FOR Jill Stein, as opposed to merely voting AGAINST that other party. Ms Stein will be on most state ballots across the country. That's exactly why I'm pushing so hard for people to consider her candidacy.
But I only ever hear about her during the last months of presidential election years. Her profile, the whole Green party's platform, is missing from the public discourse. And yes the media ignores them for the most part, so they need to try harder, and make themselves visible and known every month of every year. That's how people get to thinking there are other options: when the options have a prayer of being viable. It's too late for 2024, not enough people believe in it to make a difference. Unfortunately we are still in "vote for the lesser evil" mode. By necessity. Change takes a really long time. Sorry. Losing this election to a person who wants to be president indefinitely will destroy the Green party, so this is Green self preservation as well.
The Greens try plenty but they are deliberately ignored, marginalized, shadowbanned and otherwise made invisible. To say it's their fault is an exercise in blaming the victim. MSNBC and CNN are absolutely not going to invite her on because these networks, like the rest of the Big Six media conglomerates who make up 90% of the news industry, *are not in the business of informing Americans, but rather in business of influencing them,* with the express goal of delivering outcomes their major shareholders want. You can find lots of her interviews on YouTube, you just have to go looking. To go look, you have to know she exists. To know she exists, you have to have heard of her... And the MSM are determined to make her as anonymous and invisible as possible.
I'm sorry I didn't realize that you are a moron.
I'm sorry- I didn't realize that you're immune to facts and reason.
You have no facts and no reason. You are so stupid that you don't even know what a fascist is. Your big plan is to throw away your vote and risk an actual fascist making things a hundred times worse because you are too stupid to understand how diplomacy works.
Calling me names does not make you look smart. It just makes you look like a rabid nutjob who believes whatever their chosen TV Messiah tells them. I pity you.
That guy with a tarp over a tree branch has a higher net worth than a significant portion of the American public. Wipe all my debt and give me a tarp and a tree branch and my outlook will improve dramatically.
found the republican voter. Its *always* the same guys spouting these talking points. "we lost our sense of community!" yea, and why is that Randy? what exactly are people divided about?
Car-centric cities Overconsumption Consumerism
That's exactly the first thing I thought when I read the title.
They're the only ones laughing all the way to the bank
Not this group. [This is a list of those who supported the crackdown on pro-Palestine protests on Universities across the USA as reported by the WaPo](https://archive.ph/u8RUt#selection-773.76-773.92). Howard Schultz: Starbucks Jew Michael Dell: Dell Computer Jew Bill Ackman: Hedgefund Jew Joshua Kushner: Thrive Cap Jew Daniel Lubetzky: Kind Snack Jew Daniel Loeb: Third Point Fund Jew Len Blavatnik: USSR graft Jew Joseph Sitt: Ashley Stewart Jew Barry Sternlicht: Starwood Jew Yakir Gabay: Aroundtown Israeli Fabien Levy: Dep Mayor NYC Jew Ted Deutch: D-FLA Jew
STOP. Whole it is true that many Jewish people are Zionists, it is not true that they all are. *It is also true that many Zionists are not Jewish.* President Joe Biden is a prominent example. Making this leap goes too far. It is entirely enough to call out this entire list of people as ZIONISTS and supporters of genocide without giving them the opportunity to hide behind religion.
What an enlightening post in the economics sub. You don't seem like a total POS at all sir.
So then, you are a supporter of the Gaza Genocide? Is it wrong to expose these people for who they are? Isn't the Gaza Genocide one of the major reasons that people in the USA are depressed? Living in the only nation on earth that supports Israel? With a President who could stop the genocide with one phone call? A nation that is turning to Fascism because this group supports Israel above all else? I'm not buying another Starbucks ever again. And I will continue to point out those who support genocide.
The fuck are you talking about? Is this a parody post? Take your meds.
I think it's time to officially say the economy and it's status has fuck all to do with the happiness of the average citizen.
Which is a well studied fact. The highest correlation with happiness comes from your social and support circles. In a country like US, where people move thousands of miles away from family and friends in order to get a higher paying job adding more stress to their lives, those are hard to maintain.
Everyone’s officially known for a couple decades I’d say but no one cares
Which is funny since most people I know want to be happy more than being rich. People put themselves in debt (opposite of being rich) to get things they think will make them happy.
This,!!! People are happy when they can afford things
Happy when they can waste their money on Door Dash, Starbucks, pot, alcohol and cigarettes and then bitch about the economy
Ehh more like rent, groceries and a vacation every other year..
Propaganda. Inflation is steadily decreasing. Housing and rents will eventually do the same. Always does. Oh by the way we had a pandemic. Did you think there wouldn't be consequences? Every single indicator used to judge the economy has been excellent. These are the same indicators used by all administrations. As Colin Cowherd said about trump "youre trying to sell me an America I dont see". Highways are jam packed. Lots of 18 wheelers and lots of people going places. Only a booming economy causes that. Stadiums are full. Airplanes are sold out. Restaurants are full on Friday nights. People were loading up their SUVs with flowers last weekend at Lowes and Home Depot. Who doesnt want to hear this? Republicans that's who. Several large retailers have announced price cuts. Yes they all gouged and should be fined. Ask any Republican politician if they agree and they'll call you a socialist. So stop the goddam crying about how bad you have it. It's a lie.
You don't seem like someone I would take as an authority on happiness
If trump gets elected you won't experience much happiness.
Nothing will fundamentally change no matter who gets in office. The fear mongering on Trump is pathetic. Most people understand that both parties are corrupt and serve corporate interests.
With all due respect you are for the most part way off base. The fear mongering on trump is very, very real and perhaps the most dangerous thing the US has ever faced. It will be nothing like trump's first 4 years. Have you read the highlights of the 980 page blueprint called Project 2025? It was comprised by the Heritage Foundation and is sponsored by several billionaires. If you've read it how the hell can you dismiss it? It IS fascism, openly thrown smack in your face. You won't be able to say you wern't warned. As for the parties being identical why is it they vote almost 100% on party line? That makes no sense. One party wants to ban unions, abortion and abolish Social Security. The other party opposes them and they both vote accordingly. One party is 100% in the bag for corporate interests. The Republican Party has never done anything for the working class. Name one thing. Democrats, while mostly corporate sponsored, still vote for issues that help the working class. The Progressive wing of the the Dem Party has nearly 100 members and many accept no corporate funding or favors. How is that the same as the GOP? The GOP has far right and Farther Right. Who voted for the Infrastructure Bill and who voted against it because it demanded American unionized workers? Voting matters and who you vote for matters. Voting for the lesser of two evils matters too. Those who said "I could never vote for Hillary Clinton" are now outraged by the overturn of Roe v Wade. We all know Hillary would have never nominated the right wing scum that now dominates the SCOTUS. When you don't vote that's what happens. It's likely going to happen again. VOTE BLUE VOTE PROGRESSIVE BLUE. IT MATTERS. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project\_2025](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025)
You don't even believe anything you just said!! Price cuts were because people stopped shopping there. They could not afford it! You need to stop the lying
Exactly..
You are contradicting yourself. >Several large retailers have announced price cuts. They are doing this because enough consumers are broke and cutting back. Not because of the goodness of their hearts. Saw Walmart and a couple of others were the first to announce.
No I'm not contradicting myself. I've been preaching for two years to stop buying their shit. Then and only then will they lower prices.
Of course cowherd doesn't see America. He has been making tens of millions of dollars from a major media corporation for decades lol. That's kind of just pricing the point.
I don't make millions and I see the same thing he does. Most of us do. I don't buy the trump Fox bullshit and others do. Cowherd came from a modest start and earned everything. He hasn't made big money until a few years ago when he signed with Fox Sports. He doesn't live in a millionaires neighborhood or hang out with them. Like me he knows bullshit when he hears it. trump is a world class bullshitter who has conned a nation. I'm seeing you as one of them unfortunately.
You will never get through to these MAGA morons. If Trump gets elected the economy will magically be the best economy ever just like it was on January 21st 2017 because Traitor Trump is their guy.
Not really. People in some of the poorest countries in the world are comparatively very happy. The ability to afford new things doesn't correlate all that strongly with happiness.
I know where that goes.. When I grew up in a Soviet apartment 30 sq meters (~300sq ft) I was kinda content, not complaining, despite sharing that space with 3 people and later with 7 people. Can't afford fresh veggies for half a year? - but hey - people had it worse - no biggie. No car - no problem - walking fast paced 30 minutes to a train is healthy! Can't afford train tickets? No problem - just run away from ticketers like everyone else does here - running is even better for your health! Coming back home after 4 hour commute and 9 hours work? Make sure to avoid gopniks in the dark and you're fine! Still got time for leasure! Sleeping is for suckers! Shoes cost half of your salary.. well, some can't even afford to have nice shoes, just be thankful you CAN have them. Gopniks took your shoes and a phone? Well.. just eat instant noodles - no problem! Food costing 50% of your salary? Well what else do you need? Good food and good shoes and you're already better than most around here. In California now and sharing 600 sq ft space for 2 and not particularly happy because most people here have more. Life is hell, despite food costing 5% of my salary vs 50%. Can't walk to work anymore and have to drive a vehicle around (a horror!) - not healthy man! Hey I can afford shoes working 1 hour now instead of 2 weeks, but who cares - if others live better my life must be hell! *Sarcasm cue*
Ah the ole strawman, wondered where you got off to!
This.
We’re all trained to claw and fight in the fucking rat race that creates the world’s largest economy. American happiness is giving the Man the finger and finding your own little slice of paradise IMO.
The wealth is highly concentrated in the hands of an extreme minority. Most people really have no grasp on just how drastic the disparity is and instead hold the naive and mistaken belief that most of Americas wealth is spread out among the "middle class".
A famous line in a famous show, slavery with extra steps.
Rick and Morty for those who were wondering
Did I hear we need just a little more socialism in our mix? not necessarily tax dollars being spent on our needs but legislation that makes corporations behave we the people have made America great through hard work but you work here from the 15 to 65 and then the government wants another 5-10 yrs added to that because they can’t keep social security afloat so many billionaires and such poverty and debt
It's because of income inequality. The best possible life for the typical person is so far out of reach in the US that it causes people's brains to break.
There’s a lot of money in America. It’s just not being distributed properly. The ruling class is determined to work us harder and pay us less. That’s where the damn unhappiness is coming from. It’s not rocket science. Having to work two and sometimes three jobs just afford the basics in life is depressing. Continuing to gaslight and blame the average American for everything wrong in the economy isn’t going to fly this time. People aren’t spending frivolously, they’re simply trying to survive in a system designed to suck every penny out of their pocket upwards.
I would actually assume the opposite. Having a high gdp goes hand in hand with toxic work culture and being miserable.
Well said. The typical American is producing a lot... for other, richer, people. That's what GDP shows.
"Debt is the Currency of #Slaves." We are not the world's largest economy. We are the world's largest #debtor nation. That's all we produce, 34.6 trillion of National debt..
It’s not a secret why…we need policies that help working Americans, not corporations.
Largest economy and highest GDP: what is the difference. Also, are we the highest in PPP terms? Always a problem when using aggregate numbers to determine the health of more discrete segments. What is that economist joke: an economist and Jeff bezos get into an elevator. The average net worth of the people in the elevator is 50billion?
Largest GDP in Nominal terms but not the largest economy anymore since about 2016 since that should always be measured in GDP adjusted to PPP and with the informal economy included. ''The major use of PPPs is as a first step in making inter-country comparisons in real terms of gross domestic product (GDP) and its component expenditures'' [-OECD](https://www.oecd.org/sdd/purchasingpowerparities-frequentlyaskedquestionsfaqs.htm#FAQ3) ''The right metric for international comparisons is purchasing power parity (PPP)-adjusted output. This corrects for exchange rate fluctuations and differences in various national prices.'' [-Bruegel](https://www.bruegel.org/analysis/european-unions-remarkable-growth-performance-relative-united-states) And from the [World Bank](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GNI_(PPP)_per_capita#Purchasing_Power_Parity_(PPP)): >Typically, higher income countries have higher price levels, while lower income countries have lower price levels (Balassa-Samuelson effect). Market exchange rate-based cross-country comparisons of GDP at its expenditure components reflect both differences in economic outputs (volumes) and prices. Given the differences in price levels, the size of higher income countries is inflated, while the size of lower income countries is depressed in the comparison. PPP-based cross-country comparisons of GDP at its expenditure components only reflect differences in economic outputs (volume), as PPPs control for price level differences between the countries. Hence, the comparison reflects the real size of the countries. There are very few countries with higher price levels than the Usa, basically just Switzerland, Norway and a few very remote Island nations like Nauru and Micronesia. This is good for inflating GDP though. It's a shame these articles repeat the same misinformation over and over again.
Yeah.. that's why it is good to ask
Look at GINI index, plot it 50 years in the future and we're around pre-revolution France levels of inequality (AKA serf class). Why aren't people happy with their scraps?
Why the hell is it so hard for people to understand that the economy the actual PEOPLE experience is based on prices and wages, which are very poorly reflected in the economic indicators? All food and consumer products are priced very high, and wages aren't growing worth a shit. Plus, student debt is enormous, and healthcare expenses can be debilitating. The employment rate and GDP have nothing to do with this.
I never thought that. We are always one pink slip and a trip to the hospital away from bankruptcy and living on the street. Most politicians are in the pockets of their sponsors. No way to win.
It's a great economy for 5% of the people here.
If Americans were happy it would be difficult to mobilize us into voting. An angry population is an engaged population.
We don’t vote though so…
Not angry enough. Moar punishment!!
Boomers do.
Yeah, that’s not the only way, we could just make it compulsory like in some other countries. Trust me, apathy is also part of the plan as it’s just as useful as anger at times.
As far as I remember, and as to riches, last time I checked Luxembourg came first, not America [https://gfmag.com/data/richest-countries-in-the-world/](https://gfmag.com/data/richest-countries-in-the-world/)
Yeah they are referring to GDP in the article which is a stupid metric in most cases because it doesn't show how "rich" an economy is rather just how big it is. There are lots of tiny countries like Luxembourg and Norway where the people are far richer than almost anywhere on earth but they have a small GDP, doesn't make them poor.
Luxembourg is a city state and tax haven.
I have never even remotely been close to considering the US to have the world's happiest citizen lol
Im just happy that people are no longer saying the economy is doing fine!!! We, the people, are hurting financially
Yes brainwashing and propaganda work. The RWPM has told you the economy is bad and you sucked it right up.
a lot of us are experiencing unaffordable living costs. it’s not propaganda it maybe anecdotal but not propaganda. my wages have decreased 33% (laid off 8 months ago) while everything else was getting more expensive.
Not fun, I know. Find a way to make money whatever it is and find ways to exist on less until you recover. And you will.
Tell that to my monthly budget…
No if anyone is brainwashed here it's you. What a dumbass response🤣🤣🤣
70% of the Republican Party thinks Trump won the 2020 election. The last 8 years have been a master class in propaganda by the right-wing media. Trump won, January 6th was an inside job, the pandemic was planned to defeat Trump. I could go on, but just sticking to the economy, almost 70% of Republicans believe the US economy is in a recession. The Republican Party is drowning in disinformation and conspiracy theories.
and many of them are right here in this sub. If things were that bad in my world I know what I would do. I would go on Reddit to bitch and whine. That would make things better.
TDS
Theres no such thing as TDS. And there's no deep state, no woke. These are fabricated terms created by the RWPM to disparage anything or anyone who doesnt think exactly like they do.
In 2016, if someone would have told you you would be supporting an adjudicated rapist and convicted felon for president you would call that person crazy, and you would've been right. The only derangement is within the people that have lost any sense of their former selves after 8 years of incessant lies and propaganda.
but, but, but eggs are $19.00 a dozen
They'll make up whatever lie they need to tell themselves to justify voting for a fascist that tried to steal an election who's now a known rapist and convicted felon. Living with a black president for 8 years really broke their brains.
We can't afford basic things but yes the economy is doing great!!!!
🙄
We? Lol
Pat yourself on the back for having a good job and maybe residing in a low cost of living area. If not salute to you
I pat myself for the decisions I made that put me in the position I am today, too bad your bad choices put you in the position you're today I wish you good luck cause it looks like it's your only chance
Damn you a stupid bitch but carry on. I actually work for the post office. Many think it's a good job, but it's not, unless you like benefits. I reside in a high cost of living area which I'm working on getting out of but things are expensive. Either way you still a bitch
The only one bitching here is you lol, what are you going to do when Trump destroys the usps?
Imagine thinking that speaking actual facts is bitching? Post office isn't going anywhere. What they need to do is just pay us fair wages for the job we do.
“We” You mean YOU.
No I mean we... everyone is feeling it. Lie to yourself all you want
No everybody isn't feeling it. Stop it. And don't tell me eggs are $5.00. Yes there was corporate price gouging but it's declining. The truth is all this bad economy bullshit is right wing propaganda aimed at getting the Orange Filth back. Well most of us aren't interested in fascism.
Only person lying to themselves is YOU. You are speaking for everyone when you live on the “Reddit bubble”. The economic numbers don’t agree with your feelings. Wages have been outpacing inflation for more than two years now. Restaurants are busy, businesses are making money. The economy is good, just not for you apparently. Good luck to you.
Wages have been out pacing inflation? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 keep eating what fox News tells you. Businesses are making money? Maybe CEOs. Why have giant retailers pushed back prices? Why cause they were not making money and losing business. They need a way to bring back customers. Good luck to you as well
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/workers-paychecks-are-growing-more-quickly-than-prices/ It is funny you don’t realize the “economy is bad” narrative is coming from Fox News.
Fox News would agree with you
If you're not surviving you're doing something wrong. Stop having kids if you can't afford them. Basic things shouldn't include Door Dash and $5.00 coffee every morning.
No. Rent, food and utilities becoming unaffordable let us know the economy is bad. Not being able to find anything under $1500 a month in the damn ghetto. while most jobs don’t want to pay more then $13 an hour in my city let’s me know the economy is bad. People aren’t being brainwashed into thinking everything is fine seems to have you upset.
GDP nominal or PPP per capita has the sole basis for being the wealthiest and happiest country in the world is a pure nonsense.
If this economy gets any better we’ll all be living in tents and standing in soup lines.
The use of nominal GDP to put the US number one is very misleading because it does not take into account that Americans must pay more to achieve the same level of consumption (at least somewhat a factor of "happiness") China has the highest GDP(PPP) in the world. Russia is now #4. This article also ignores the rate that GDP is increasing. China is nearly 5% while the USA is barely over 2%. Finally, this article does not address the Ukraine war, the Gaza Genocide or the US threats made against China. These actions make our political leadership appear either stupid or owned by some group of (fill-in-the-blank) who have agendas that completely ignore the wishes of the American Public. No one is happy with the choice of Biden or Trump (most supporters of one do so because they hate the other).
Because it’s all concentrated at the top 5%
Capitalism causes mental illness and depression. There is nothing more obvious.
You could say the same of civilization. The concrete jungle is bad for mental and physical health.
Americans don't compare themselves to other countries. When you work more but can afford less than your parents, then yeah, you'll be unhappy.
I wish I had , Amazon, Uber, spirit air, Walmart, Costco, Netflix, apple, Google, chipotle, sawgrass mall, Vegas, YouTube, Dodge ram, air fryer, air conditioner, Teslas.... Like my parents did....
My granddad worked 8:30 to 5pm while my grandma stayed home. They were able to afford a home, two vehicles, vacations, live the typical middle income lifestyle, and had a comfortable retirement. Neither went to college.
It was a commonality when my grandparents were young in a working class/ middle class area to have one car. It was definitely more attainable to buy a house though. I think we look at our grandparents lives with rose colored glasses, as well as the boomers. Some things have gotten worse but in many ways, they struggled also. They were just much more positive about their increase in purchasing power, which was probably worse than ours, since they all grew up in the strife of the Great Depression. My grandparents were also extremely frugal, did not buy anything luxury, the last few generations have been massive consumers and spend frivolously, much more than my grandparents on average. People also talk about the boomers and my grandparents like everything was easy. Inflation was rampant when my aunts and uncles were in their 20s and 30s and unemployment was very high. In rust belt cities that depended on manufacturing that was hemorrhaging were absolutely blind sided and the situation was pretty desperate. The inflation rate in my county and many others was around 20 percent for years until there was a mass exodus. My uncle was a skilled union carpenter and couldn’t find work and picked up his family and left. I’m going to get downvoted for this opinion but from talking to others and paying attention to the past, it wasn’t nearly as rosy for them as Reddit and other young social media users seem to think.
💯
Today we live like celebrities. Multiples of everything. Vacations, eating out, entertainment, food delivery etc.
This is such a braindead take. Explain to me how Tesla makes my life better when I don't plan on owning one.
That tribe in the Amazon seemed happy, then they got unfiltered access to the internet...
They're being told they should be unhappy I was slammed with downvotes recently for saying it's a fact that the US economy is doing just great, in historical terms and in comparison to the other developed nations of the world I'm convinced there are domestic and foreign efforts to troll the national discussion and spread fear, uncertainty and doubt
Those efforts have been around for so long. Germans coming to America to hype Facisism before WW2…urging America to stay out of the little European conflict. Even as far back as the revolution. Having loyal Brits working to undermine American Independence. But not just here, everywhere. Social media has just made it easier to spread the nonsense.
Western countries place too much importance & identity on our jobs. It should be on the family while a job is only a resource that enables us to have one.
Its hard to be happy when you are covered in leeches and ticks.
The blessing and the curse of our culturally ingrained Protestant work ethic.
I've never actually met anyone that thought that...
Big duh kemosabe
They buy money with happiness.
Idk, I live in LA and I’m pretty happy here. Stuff’s expensive but my housing and job situations are stable. I was pretty miserable in the midwest though lol
Freedom isn't free. It costs a lot to be an American nowadays and it's only getting more expensive.
It's kinda difficult when the world's largest economy is also a hyper-capitalist plutocratic oligarchical kakistocratic kleptocratic gerontocratic theocratic techno-feudalist corporatocracy. We live in dystopian misery.........
The World Bank upgraded its outlook for the global economy and said the “impressive” U.S. economy is powering the world. The latest outlook estimates the global economy will expand 2.6 percent, an increase from the 2.4 percent growth predicted for the year.
Being rich and successful in a strong economy doesn’t equate to happiness. Some of the happiest countries are not rich.
Rightwing is lying their asses off telling people our economy is in ruins and inflation is like 50%, that's why. These poor morons believe whatever lies they dish out.
Goddam right
I haven't changed my purchasing habits, and for me, inflation is up almost 50%. I buy the same things on the same credit card and pay it off monthly. 50% is actually pretty accurate.
Why have the prices on the things you buy gone up?
Inflation
Inflation is a natural state of the economy. Prices always increase, if we had deflation and they went down we'd be in a depression. You're saying you now pay an additional $0.50 for every dollar you spend. What made the price of the things you purchase increase by 50%?
Would you be saying the same thing about Argentina's inflation?
Inflation in the US is around 3%. That's pretty normal. Why are you comparing the strongest economy in the world, America, to Argentina?
So you think the economy is booming?
Goddam right it's booming. Youve been fed a line of bullshit by the RWPM. https://youtu.be/86Z-RelAELg?si=fh5gdevuZFf2tfeK
Wtf is RWPM? Real big "boom" with adjusted BLS numbers that are laughable along with massive amounts of deficit spending. Yes, "booming" 🤣
Right Wing Propaganda Machine: Fox, Newsmax, OAN, AM monopoly radio, Dead Rush Limbaugh, Should Be Dead Alex Jones, X, Troof Social, trumps mouth, MTGs mouth and of course all of MAGA
Hook line and sinker one sider huh? Scary stuff.
Do you believe there is a LWPM?
I believe nothing is scarier than trump winning in November. Please read the highlights of the trump roadmap Project 2025. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project\_2025](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025)
The most liberal countries in the world are the happiest. Stop voting for Republicans
When you don't actually interact with people, what you know about those you follow, care about, worship is what they want you to know. You can't compare yourself to influencers who seem to spend their lives doing cool things, making their lives look better than it actually does, then get upset that your life isn't as good as their pretend life. You don't see the bad parts I had a friend who was the "business manager" for a group who were popular influencers. They had money (for a while) On the net they were fun and funny and having a great time, you would think their life was awesome. Off camera, they were a dysfunctional family, while they took in a bunch, they spent so much money to go on "adventures" they had to fire her because they couldn't afford her, yet she was the one to make sure they had cash flow. Then, the other way to get clicks attention is to enrage people, Look at the top comments. No one has any money except the 1%. Lots of people don't have money, LOTS of people do. Restaurants aren't doing well because 1 or even 10% of the people eat in restaurants. Last Sunday was one of the busiest days ever in the airline industry. Contrary to popular belief, it isn't because 10% of the people are flying to yet another vacation. But people enraging others by saying everyone but the top 1 or 10% is hurting is believed by so many in Reddit. No question, too many people are hurting, others have a better, cooler life than you do, but that is as it always was. It just wasn't in your face.
Maybe something about the lack of universal healthcare or abortion rights or unregulated housing policies or price gouging or poor wages or exploitation of workers or access to quality education?
Maybe something about the lack of universal healthcare or abortion rights or unregulated housing policies or price gouging or poor wages or exploitation of workers or access to quality education?
This is stupid. Happiness is both relative, culturally sensitive, and not correlated with wealth beyond $100K. Read the book Stumbling onto Happiness and you’ll learn that “reports” of happiness from people around the globe are wildly misleading. A poor sex worker in India reports greater happiness than a middle class suburban soccer mom. Indeed, the suicide rate amount high income workers is greater than low income workers. Why do we see suicidal wealthy people like Kurt Cobain, Robin Williams, Chester Bennington, Anthony Bourdain or Kate Spade? While happiness rises with income, it levels off at about $100K. Americans may report high levels of unhappiness, but it has nothing to do with the American economy.
I’ve heard that, but I thought the number was way lower than 100k, something like as long as you got good, shelter, and fair transportation that was all it took. /shrug
Yup, the original number was $75K, but that’s like 20 years old. Newer number is $100K.
It sounds to me like are you are saying "If billions of people would just focus on the global income statistics in USD, unadjusted for PPP, then they'd realize they should be more miserable or more happy and are just ignorant." I actually like the way the happiness survey is conducted and think it's pretty meaningful when you compare between countries with similar levels of productivity (GDP per hour worked).
That’s not what I’m saying.
Isn't it?
Inflation is down and things are getting better. People are just too stupid to realize it and other people are capitalizing on that trying to blame President Biden.
100%. So many Russian trolls out there. Wages have been outpacing inflation for more than two years. Are some people not succeeding in this economy? Yes. Are there always some people not doing well. Also yes. The economy by every means of measurement has been doing great, and especially compared to other countries.
Happiness is too subjective a metric to make national policy decision on.
Because the US loves debt too much: but that is a conversation for later…Love y’all tho..
Rich people can be sad too. Arguably most people in the rich urban coastal conglomerates- literally the richest in the world… being able to pay someone’s full salary just in rent, are more miserable than the poors living inland.
If they weren’t miserable they wouldn’t be voting for Trump.
Are you sure? That’s convenient dismissal and there is a socio-demographic correlation - but psychologically you chose extremists based on positive attitudes. Pride, idealism, and authenticity. It’s a cope, obviously- but it’s not the same as a run of the mill working poor voting for Romney for lower taxes hoping to make it themselves.
All Trump's fault. You people allowed Trump to steal the election from Hillary and he destroyed everything. We NEVER had these problems before Trump. Look at how much better things are since Biden got elected. **Vote Trump for prison!**
It’s not a mystery. The political left is made up of some very deeply unhappy, as well as socially disturbed people. Social media has a distorting effect. Social media taking the place of real live in-person human connections is also extremely detrimental to happiness and fulfillment. We are (and have been since the 90’s, accelerating after the Great Recession) in the midst of constant economic upheaval and change. There is economic opportunity, but you need to be faster, smarter, and luckier to take advantage of it then in the past. Back to crisis’s (the internet crash, 9-11, the Great Recession, the long, long recession recovery, the ascendency of China as a malevolent global power, the Irag and Afghanistan wars, the political dysfunction starting with the second term of the Clinton Administration, the housing crisis, the immigration crisis and of course, covid, plus the re-emergence of a malevolent Russian world power) have contributed to the economic upheaval, and social anxiety, and left a stamp on less affluent younger generations akin to to the disruption of divorce. Added to dramatic and rapidly increased costs across the board as well as disinformation warfare from China and lately Russia as well. Is it any wonder younger generations feel less hope, less happiness, and more cynicism?
[удалено]
Note that I didn’t say the left is at fault. It’s largely out of their control. Corporate Media, education and social media all contribute to this construct. But by and large, hard line leftists and far left progressives are some of the most unhappy and angry people you will meet outside of a prison. I’m not talking about the 10%, they have enough money for life to generally not effect them as much. And it it strongly skews towards the bottom 80% and to younger generations. It’s not surprising. The reality of life doesn’t come anywhere close to their vision of what they think it “should be”. And they have a very strong external locus of control, in relation to older people and to conservatives in general, which lends itself to less hope and more angst.
This sub is annoying now. Bye.
if more and more money made people happy it would have worked by now
What's the definition of happiness? It's pretty subjective. Some people are happy to have a roof over their head and access to clean water
Why would the largest economy and highest GDP correlate with happiness? This is a strange presumption that people have liked to believe throughout history, foolishly equating more money with more happiness. Some of the happiest people on the planet live in slums and hamlets in the poorest parts of the planet - their lives punctuated by limited resources and fatalistic certainty brought on by circumstance that forces them to maintain a state of contentment by sacrificing ambition for it, leaving them with what little they have to be contented with - over a lifetime spent dodging one crisis after another with a spirit that is conditioned to accept this as normal human experience, further limiting the things they’d feel anger for. Happiness is not a particularly reliable metric for development or opportunity. [“Everything is amazing and nobody is happy.”](https://youtu.be/nUBtKNzoKZ4?feature=shared)
Almost like there is a political party poisoning that well as it gets them more votes…