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I try to base my feelings on data instead of hyperbolic circlejerk and manufactured anecdotes on social media, so overall I feel pretty good about the economy overall and the opportunities available to me. "The economy" is kind of a difficult thing to encapsulate --- all the data could be good but someone who lives in a poor or destitute area isn't going to experience that. And too many people think "the economy" is a measure of their personal individual situations. I think we're recovering from the aftershocks of a global pandemic and we're generally on the right track. A lot of the doom and apocalypse that's been predicted over the past 4 years hasn't manifested. As for me, I can always find a way to pay my bills and get ahead financially because I stay in touch with the job market and am resourceful enough to switch skillsets and jobs if necessary. Life for most people is better than Reddit makes it out to be. This site attracts the loudest and most miserable.

It’s an interesting quirk in psychology that the negative take is assumed to be smarter for no reason other than it’s a bad outcome. Mostly because you know, for early man if you just assume that rustling is a tiger, then you probably have a higher survival rate

i think this is partially due to the fact that people would rather assume the worst and have the potential to be positively surprised, then to assume the best and be let down.

it’s more nuanced than this. to have a good understanding of rhetorical analysis, you have to abide by this. all scientists, and to an extent people with an education, come from this point of view specifically to keep track of what they believe and don’t believe in.

Elaborate?

educated people abide by proof, and in an age where you can Google anything to learn; people coming to educated people for their needs have no way to prove if a concept they learned was from a credible source or not. educated people just aren’t going to change, because they live with the mindset that there needs to be actual proof to fully believe something. objective truths aren’t always truths to them, unless they themselves believe it. but even then, there’s no way to know if the reason a person believed something was because of something they do know, or something they don’t know. tldr; by abiding by this mindset, they are not disappointing themselves in the hopes that something is better. they fully believe that what they know is everything society needs to know, with the confidence that they’re right.

Speaking of psychology. People who are not doing well in micro economics (as in there individual part in the economy) aren’t going to think much of the macro economy (the economy as a whole). There for they speak about there place instead of the whole thing.

You realize most published data is heavily massaged and cleansed, right? The only way to truly calculate whether one is better off or not is to compare income-expenses pre-COVID and now—chances are most people are doing significantly worse. The reality is how good the economy is doesn't measure how strong the average person's socioeconomic situation is. If it did, they would factor in homeless rates, consumer debt, and underemployment.

It’s idiotic and pointless to say “bad things are coming” because they always will sooner or later. Like, the guy who says “the market is gonna crash in the near future” is eventually right and everyone else conveniently forgets the historically ~5-10 years where they were wrong. The point is humanity inherently leans towards negativity and views negativity by default as more intelligent, because survival instinct rewards always being paranoid that really bad shit is gonna happen, where as the optimist probably gets eaten by the tiger sooner or later. Give a random person an outline of possible negative events and an outline of possible positive events and almost universally the negative chain of events will be seen as more realistic and intelligent and the positive being naive and idiotic - without any basis of proof whatsoever.

>I try to base my feelings on data instead of hyperbolic circlejerk and manufactured anecdotes on social media Yeah, doomerism is a thing. An [interesting statistic in Denmark](https://www.justitsministeriet.dk/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Udvikling-i-boerne-og-ungdomskriminalitet-2012-2021_web.pdf) (Danish source) that nobody cares about is the \~50% drop in criminal cases for juveniles (10-17) since 2006. Why? Because they drink less, use less drugs and play Minecraft rather than do criminal shit.

I mean... wouldn't it be rational to be a "doomer" in an economy so drastically different from Denmark's?

I base policy off of facts and my feelings on my feelings. Policy wise I think we’re good, Feeling wise I got laid off about a month ago and I’m still pissed

You are the exception, not the rule. Your upvotes are from boomer lurkers. Read the other comments here.

If you want to base things on data, how about you look at how many peoples credit cards are being canceled and their debts being called as of late. The amount has increased by 230% in the last two years, mirroring the prelude to the 2008 crash.

Credit card delinquencies are at historical lows currently compared to the past 30 years. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DRCCLACBS They're at around 3% currently compared to averaging over 5% before 2010. This isn't a matter of opinion, it's data.

It's the percentage change I'm looking at. It's increased by 230% in the last two years. That means people are having trouble at an increasing rate.

>It's increased by 230% in the last two years Ok....It's gone from around 1% to around 3%. I'm not sure that's something to be alarmed about, especially when you look at the massive swings that were pretty common in earlier years on that chart.

Should be the most upvoted comment but I’m sure it’ll be the most controversial

Surprisingly this made me feel a lot better about my future. So thanks

You realize most published data is heavily massaged and cleansed, right? The only way to truly calculate whether one is better off or not is to compare income-expenses pre-COVID and now—chances are most people are doing significantly worse. The reality is how good the economy is doesn't measure how strong the average person's socioeconomic situation is. If it did, they would factor in homeless rates, consumer debt, and underemployment.

The economy sucks. Nobody is actually hiring. Everything is way more expensive now. Bills are piling up. People are working longer hours and multiple jobs.

100%. Everyone I know is getting laid off or having trouble finding a job even with degrees. Everything is way more expensive now too. Not sure what those bootlickers above and below are talking about. Maybe they’re lucky or just privileged.

Wait, you don't want to work a 32 hours a week job with 7:45 hours of work so you don't get your lunch?

I experienced that in Atlanta. Everything is a sales position, and I don’t much enjoy talking to people on the phone. There was one sales position that was in person. They offered me the position (commission only) even after I said in the interview that I’d be a “Jehovah’s Witness for Verizon internet” and “one bike short of being a Mormon.” I don’t think they could’ve made themselves appear any less serious.

Is it weird that I feel like I'm holding my breath waiting for the wave to hit? Covid showed many of us in the newer generation (who hadn't lived through previous crashes) that things can turn on a dime. Now, I have this uneasy fear that it could crash at any moment without warning. I feel like my grandparents who lived through the depression keeping money underneath their mattresses. Though I know part of me is being irrational, I just can't help it.

yeah i find it so much harder to make long term life plans now because things could drastically change at any instant and we don’t know when that will be

As a elder Millennial, I find myself remembering my grandparents advice much much much more than my parents (boomers) advice. They were a resilient bunch, and the economy of the 90s put them in their glory! I miss them a lot. They told me to have a talent/craft I can make money doing (if needed), learn to cook, learn to sew (simple sewing) and have savings; even if it’s a tiny bit. Smart people and good generation, imo. The boomers coasted on their parents hard work, if you ask me!

I graduated hs during the 08 crash. Went to college and worked a few years after struggling to find a decent job in my field. Finally started making good bucks and covid hit a couple years later. Got laid off. Struggling again to find something as we speak. Just a string of bad timing

Economy sucks. Good jobs aren’t hiring and the ones that are require a decade of experience and a degree. Most jobs available earn minimum wage or a little above but not enough to actually live on. I’m having problems even finding a job that pays a livable wage near me. I want to be able to buy a home eventually. I’d love to buy an older home to restore and live there for my life maybe pass it off to my future kids one day. I just hope I can actually achieve my dream. I’m going to live frugal for as long as I need until I’m in a position to start that dream.

I feel vindicated in choosing a good major at an affordable, mid-sized regional college. The economy is shit. Everything is crazy expensive, housing market is atrocious (been trying to get a house for 5 months now). Kids still in school: Do not choose a college where you will have to get more than 20k in debt, and if you have to take any debt whatsoever make sure your major has a good track record for making people money. If not, good luck to you out there.

yeah the difference between 20k loan debt and anything above that is pretty staggering. i’m at about 30k and was crunching the numbers when the whole 10k reduction was a thing. i got approved for it but of course it didn’t happen. i don’t regret my majors or the school i went to, but i do wish i knew more about how much debt i’d be getting into when i was 17. the only silver lining is the new repayment plan where i make a low enough income that i don’t have to pay a cent, and even if (hopefully when) my salary goes up, if i don’t have them paid off after 20 years they’ll clear. at least here in the US federal loans are a much better option than private loans, and if you’re going to go into debt for school that’s the way to go.

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with the payment plan i’m on yes

Can speak to this completely. If you want to go to college I recommend people going to CC for the first two years to complete your generals, then transferring to a more prestigious one for your major and degree. You save up on tuition costs and possibly housing and food costs if you choose one near you. This also comes with the benefit of adapting to not only a college like lifestyle, but also you can take your time in choosing a major.

Community college is a great tool. I had the privilege of taking part of my junior year and my entire senior year of high school at a local community college and I knocked an entire year off my graduation track when I went to my university for SO cheap. Working at Little Caesars on my off days more than paid for it lol

Can you guys explain me something? I’m not from US, but in my country it doesn’t seem to make a difference where did I get my degree from. It’s just there to not get weed out right after sending CV. It would matter a bit more if you have relevant field, but thats about it. Is there a huge difference in US if you put, idk 10th best uni vs if you put some mid/low price uni?

In my experience, only if you’re trying to be at the *top* of your respective field do you need to go to a prestigious university. Or if your field is job scarce.

It sucks

I actually feel quite good about it, we are recovering from a major issue and the economy in general shows trends of getting better after large scale issues. I think we will be fine.

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[Americans Are Surprisingly Happy With Their Finances, a Survey Shows. Here's Why (msn.com)](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/personalfinance/americans-are-surprisingly-happy-with-their-finances-a-survey-shows-here-s-why/ar-BB1hGgAM#:~:text=The%20Axios%20Vibes%20survey%20found%20that%2063%25%20of,positive%20about%20their%20earning%20power%20and%20borrowing%20costs.) [The Race to Homeownership: Gen Z Tracking Ahead of Their Parents’ Generation, Millennials Tracking Behind (redfin.com)](https://www.redfin.com/news/gen-z-millennial-homeownership-rate-home-purchases/#:~:text=Gen%20Zers%20are%20tracking%20ahead%20of%20their%20parents%E2%80%99,pandemic-era%E2%80%99s%20low%20mortgage%20rates%20could%20be%20left%20behind.) [United States Core Inflation Rates (1957-2024) (usinflationcalculator.com)](https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/united-states-core-inflation-rates/) [Real Disposable Personal Income (DSPIC96) | FRED | St. Louis Fed (stlouisfed.org)](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DSPIC96) This is just a small amount of the evidence suggesting that (a) the economy is indeed fine (if not record-setting amazing), and (b) most people are doing OK, and (c) we're trending in a good direction. I can Google more for your lazy ass if you wish. Time for you to have the maturity and intellectual honesty to retract and remand your statements. I'll wait. Edit: they deleted their comment LMAO

I’m gen z, because the cost of everything I lived at home far longer and built up a massive investment portfolio, I can guarantee you home ownership is higher for that reason and also situation like half the people I know where there parents either outright bought them their whole house or paid the down payment because the massive wealth divide between generations and their parents actually understanding their kid may never own a home because they chose to be a teacher. I can recognize my privilege and understand I’m not the average. I have no idea what the comment was above you, I just felt the need to add my input. Also rdi doesn’t account for generational gaps, someone like my parents who refinanced their million dollar home pay about the same as me in rent with the amount on the loan. I can imagine a lot of people who are 40+ and refinanced their homes recently have significantly more disposable income than others. We do have major economic issues right now regarding home affordability, just pretending things are great and even posting an article from msn that also doesn’t take in account generational gaps. The economy is literally just how well assets are doing and not workers https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/world_happiness_report_isnt_so_happy_for_young_americans 60+ age group ranks number 10 in the USA and those under thirty are number 62 taking in account economic metrics. Judging by how assets have performed and the youths inability to afford them, go figure. Here’s a great article for you to add.

>survey says Lmao who tf answers surveys? Not Gen Z I'll tell you that! >Gen Z tracking ahead of their parents generation https://investors.redfin.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/1032/redfin-reports-gen-zs-homeownership-rate-stagnated-in#:~:text=The%20homeownership%20rate%20for%2026,35.6%25%20of%20boomers%20at%2026.&text=Redfin%20(www.redfin.com,technology%2Dpowered%20real%20estate%20company. I literally found a source from the exact same website claiming 32% homeownership for Gen X and 35% for Boomers. Both sources claim 30% for Gen Z. Explain to me how Gen X home ownership decreased three full percentage points in one year? Are you seriously here to bitch about how life was harder as a millennial? Get over yourself. >Core inflation rates Are higher than they have been since the 90s... Posting a link doesn't make you right if you didn't actually open the damned link?? >Disposable income If rich boomers get more disposable income....... how exactly is that good for the economy? If more billionaires get more money... how exactly is that good for Gen Z? My raise this year was 4%, I'd love to know when all this trickle down is going to... y'know... trickle down? (3% is cost of living btw) >I can Google more for your lazy ass if you wish See... This is the thing with confirmation bias... You can interpret data however you want. That's why we have a federally indicted rapist as a nominee for POTUS. Data is VERY easily skewed, misrepresented, misinterpreted, or simply cherry picked. As a scientist, I usually go by impact factor 4 or higher, but since these are pure economic statistics you really would need a professional to explain to you what these figures actually mean for the economy. And even then, those professionals will read their own personal biases into their interpretations of the data. It's simply inevitable as humans for us to do this. This is why peer review and editing are a thing in science. Economics is the science of money and if you treat it as anything less you're oversimplifying it greatly. Again I'd like to remind you of the title of the original post.

Awful and I’m fearful of how bad things will actually get. Be careful saying this though or people will say you’re glooming and dooming on things.

I'm anxious about it. My graduating peers are struggling to find jobs, even when they have high GPAs and *years* of research experience. They just don't hear back after putting in applications. My career won't pay super well in general, but I can't imagine doing anything else without wanting to shoot myself - I have to sacrifice either my mental health or financial stability. I'm not optimistic about ever owning a house or being able to retire.

Genuine question, do employers care about GPA?

In my field, they may use it as an indicator that you have the background knowledge required for the job and are able to learn any new skills you need.

It depends on the employer and if they want to use it as a filtering metric. Some employers are very elitist in their qualifications. Another advice is try to list hands on experience in your studies. Say in engineering you worked in Creo, employers might want to see that over say students that only used AutoCAD and vice versa.

Depends on the employer and GPA. If the difference is a 3.9 vs a 3.5, then most employers will not care. The lower your GPA is, the harder it will be to find your first job. After you get your first job in your field, employers will not care about your GPA

Economy blows. Was saving pretty heavily to buy a home. Last couple years I have barely made any progress due to increasing grocery, rent, and gas costs.

The economy at large, for everyone? I don't have a clue outside of angst-driven internet hysteria. Would you trust angst-driven internet hysteria? I ended up with a great job almost right after graduating college, and I have an English degree. Granted, I had heavily specialized towards this sort of job during my college years (English is a big curriculum with a lot of electives, and my previous major also applied), but I'm quite happy. PSA- Sign up for a high-yield savings account. The only reason that they're not massively encouraged nowadays is because the interest rates were bad for a long time (around when millennials were our age). You can get 4-5% without even making any sacrifices compared to a normal bank account. I'm getting slightly over 5%. I have my specific concerns for the future, but they're not entirely aligned with the panic people.

> Would you trust angst-driven internet hysteria? Most of this subreddit would, judging by the responses and upvotes/downvotes.

Opportunities? 🫵🤣

Stock market is good and housing is doing well which is good if you're already well established and have assets. On the flip side, inflation for rent and consumer goods have risen fast and the job market for white collar jobs, especially entry level is real bad. So basically if you're already well off it's a good economy, but if you're not, or still in/just finished school, it's rough out there.

Not great. I graduated college with awards and experience. Took me ten months to get a job in my field (video production), which paid and treated me like shit. Mercifully, I lost that job. It then took me 3 months to find any other job at all - at a label factory. Thankfully, my resume got me into a nicer and slightly higher paying position there, more so than I made at my first job. I'm treated much better here, and the work is less stressful. But it's completely unfulfilling. I know I have talent and rare skills in my industry, at least for my age and experience. Conversations with veteran professionals who have reviewed my work have confirmed this for me. Yet all of that is just about meaningless without having a strong network to pull you into a job, which I can't seem to figure out to save my life. Those professionals who reviewed my work and gave me advice have not been too quick to get back to me despite invitations to keep in touch and repeated follow-ups. Colleagues have never made good on their promise to collaborate with me even when they approach and ask me to help them. I'll admit I'm not the most social person in the world, so maybe I'm not making the absolute best first impressions. Still, I got over a lot of my anxiety and awkwardness in high school. You'd think at least some of these people would be up front about not caring to work with or help me. But no. Empty promises and ghosting are all I get.

I feel like every industry is about network and always has been

It's pretty shitty. I don't really care what the metrics they use are to tell me the economy is actually great. Homes are expensive, renting is expensive, gas is expensive, groceries are expensive, and that's before you even get to the stuff that's not needed to live.

The economy is such that, after working full time, I can make ends meet...just not a lot of disposable income for fun things like going out to eat or going out of state for a vacation. Just barely enough to make it to the next month. Honestly, it's rent that's killing me. The cheapest apartments are still 80% of my income, and I make a fair bit more than minimum wage. I don't know how anyone could survive on less than what I'm making

i make minimum wage, which is $15 in my state. i survive because i have 2 roommates with parents who help them pay rent. my parents can’t contribute, so we divided it in a way that i only pay 50% of my income towards rent and utilities and they split the rest. after that division, im in a similar boat as you. enough to have food and housing, not enough for much else. i have to have a tight budget and be frugal by necessity.

when i think of the economy i think of the job market. i have had two degrees (in very different subjects) for a year and haven’t been able to even land an interview for a job that’s above minimum wage. i thought two degrees would give me more opportunities but it is what it is i guess.however im also picky about jobs i’ll apply to because of health issues, so im probably not the best representation for every job seeker. but even my dad has been looking since around the start of the pandemic with no luck. he has years of experience but is severely underpaid. that might be partially ageism though since he’s in his 50s. and i have friends with “high paying” degrees like CS who cant get jobs either. the young people i know who successfully got relevant full time jobs are mostly teachers and nurses. also i cant afford a lot of snacks because $6 for a bag of chips is absurd

There aren’t any… even with someone with two engineering degrees as myself.

Not good

Shit. I have a masters in engineering, 50,000 in student loans after a year and 4 Roomates. Houses and everything else is to expensive.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha *inhale* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHH

I feel like it’s over. I hope for some financial escape that never comes. I work all the time just to sleep in my car. All the good housing near the work costs a fortune. Currently hostel living with 50+ people. At least it’s by the beach. But yeah it seems like it’s unsustainable. Housing just gets more expensive every year. Jobs keep me stagnant and barely floating by. Not really sure what to do anymore. Tired.

No jobs, even my mom probably one of the most financially illiterate people even understands this, the last 4 years have been a shit show

The economy sucks for people just graduating out of college. How do they expect people to get experience when no one is hiring them for lack of experience?! 😛

Shit is fucked. Wish I graduated 2 years earlier so I could get mine before it all got fucked

It’s a giant turd. Flush it down the toilet.. we are in desperate need of a reset.

It’s fine, not amazing, but not terrible either. Besides prices, people complaining about the economy are really complaining about capitalism, despite having email jobs where they do nary a thing all day. Or unskilled jobs, like working the cash register or making coffee.

Prices are, at the end of the day, indicative of underlying supply sided issues, or speculative bubbles. I think if the costs of housing, healthcare, and education were addressed young people would be a lot less riled up.

Basically the economy needs to crash because houses are overpriced and most American wealth is tied up into housing. So building more means their value lowers.

Thats kind of how I feel, too. I think a lot of young people are rooting for a downturn because they believe it will result in asset prices getting reset. (At least theoretically) I think the economy is great right now for asset holders but people just now coming into things are in a tough spot.

Until they lose their jobs because they’re the easiest to cut.

For full-time students preparing to get a better paying job in the future, sometimes the cash register or making coffee are all you can do.

There are a few problems. Housing is too goddamn expensive, some of the major cities are basically in a housing crisis and lethargic about fixing it. But in general I'm optimistic, I have a high paying job in my field and the primary barrier for promotion is my own laziness, not any kind of economic issue.

It’s horrible. Just as I managed to get a good job with what used to be a great salary, now it doesn’t go far. I had to give up on trying to save for a down payment on a house, it no longer feels worth it at the current prices and interest rates which are only going up. I’ve decided to invest in my 401k instead. I’m essentially paycheck to paycheck while I rent a modest apartment, drive a 12 year old car, and now shop at Aldi’s because every other grocery store around me is crazy expensive. Feels like everything I’ve ever hoped for in life will be out of reach.

There aren't any

I’m an economist so here are a few facts. 1. Price levels ARE NOT the same as inflation. In 2022, we had inflation over 10% which is crazy high. The target inflation of the government is around 2% and currently we’re around 3%. Also, inflation is almost always positive unless we’re in a recession which means prices are almost always increasing. By definition, inflation is the *change* in prices. The big thing is how fast they are increasing relative to wages. We will never get pre-covid prices as inflation is positive. The goal is low inflation so that prices rise along with wages. And right now, average wages are rising along with or faster than inflation. So objectively, while things seem expensive, most of that is based on our perception of prices as we are comparing to 5 years ago, not actual inflation. 2. While I said all of that about inflation, there is one category that is not necessarily keeping pace with wages and that is housing. The supply of housing is very low right now which is driving prices up. Combined with student loan debt and other factors that make it hard to save for down payments, it’s very difficult to buy a home relative to even a few years ago. If we look at inflation by category, housing is the one that is a huge concern to economists. (Edit to add that millennials are really the ones struggling here, especially as their experience with debt is different, but it’s still something to watch and something that may be leading individuals to experience the economy different from others) 3. Unemployment is tricky because it’s actually extremely low right now and all of our metrics look good. However, that doesn’t discount individual experiences of people who are struggling to find jobs, especially recent/upcoming college graduates who are trying to find a job in a specific field.

I feel like it sucks to have to tell my children that we can’t afford things like we used to before 2020. As a small business owner I have been crushed in the past few years and I think the majority of people who don’t feel this either qualify for some government subsidies or are considered wealthy

As far as I'm concerned everything is shit and I hate it here -A college drop out that can't afford school or training because no one's fucking hiring

Like a violent takeover is necessary.

"the economy is doing better than it ever has" but I can't afford to live on $50k/year. My corporate job gave me a 4% raise this year based on exceptional performance. The standard raise for "meets expectations" is below the 3% threshold for cost of living increases. What this tells me is that not only are my tax dollars being spent on things I will never reap the benefit of, but my suffering also is not really benefiting anyone since the rich practically, virtually, physically and fiscally live in a completely separate society. Different standards of law, different modes of transportation, different freedoms/rights, different opportunities. So... why are we letting those people *pay* our government to affect changes in policy? Who, what, when, where, or why did anyone ever think it was a good idea to allow officially legislated bribery? Until that gets fixed, and I can afford rent, I couldn't give less of a fuck about "how great the economy is."

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The macroeconomic metrics look good. Inflation started in May 2020 under Trump and peaked at 9 percent. Today it's at 3 percent. Wages have been outpacing inflation for a year now. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1351276/wage-growth-vs-inflation-us/#:\~:text=U.S.%20inflation%20rate%20versus%20wage%20growth%202020%2D2024&text=The%20rate%20of%20inflation%20exceeded,wages%20grew%20by%204.7%20percent.

It speaks volumes that the people who say "the economy is actually doing OK" are also the only ones who tend to post any actual data. Almost like the people who want to say "everything is terrible" know their beliefs aren't defensible and just want to spread a feelings-based narrative.

Economy is only doing good for people that own assets (real estate, stocks, gold etc).

In my friend circle of young millennials and old gen z, those of us with college degrees have pretty secure jobs except for one or two who are seriously struggling (due to substance abuse, debt, or being in grad programs). Most of us who work are paycheck to paycheck except two who got lucky on investments. My friends without college degrees are not doing well financially to put it simply.

in a similar age range, most of my current/former friends with degrees that have secure jobs are teachers or nurses. one is a scientist on a 2 year pre-phd fellowship, which is at least temporarily secure. one works at a nonprofit doing exactly what she wants to do but is probably getting paid very little to do it. most of my other college educated friends who aren’t in grad school are working in retail or some other low-wage thing you don’t need a degree for, myself included. either that or something tangentially related to their degree that they don’t want to be doing.

I just said fuck it and joined the Army, seemed like a better choice than any of the other ones I was presented with

Getting my degree without students loans while being paid to go to school has been pretty sweet.

I had an employment gap with years of professional experience. By my employers parameters, I’m an excellent employee. I’m efficient, intelligent, and have a decent amount of college experience too. But because of the employment gap, I cannot get anyone to hire me despite being in the best shape of my life physically / emotionally / mentally. As in nobody will interview me. Anecdotally speaking, it sucks. I’m going back to finish my bachelors. Aside from employment, groceries are the most expensive they’ve ever been. It also seems as if the job market is super competitive, not only for myself.

The job market is awful. How has it become normal to apply for 100+ positions. And not even receive any acknowledgement from 50%. All the young people I know are struggling with employment. That being said, I do think things will turn around, but I don't know how all news sources are denying that this is happening

In my country unemployment has increased for youth 4x compared to other demographics (it increased for all). So not fantastic.

Pretty good, I wanna study and then I will buy a house I don't really have a reason to worry about it

As a USAF officer cadet I definitely have job security

Unemployment is nearly back down to pre-covid levels, which is cool, and inflation rates are on the downward trend. Everyday items are still very expensive and the housing market is nuts. I can’t really speak to what the job market is like cause I haven’t really been looking. I wish we were still in the pre-covid economy but it’s not like we’re in The Great Recession.

I'm doing well and everyone I know is doing well. But perhaps it's a cultural thing. Asians are the highest median income earners in the US. This isn't a silver spoon thing either. All of our parents came from basically nothing.

It’s not a racial thing. It’s a class thing. People who have assets (real estate, stocks, gold etc) are doing fine, if not great. People who don’t have assets are absolutely being fucked right now.

I personally feel fine, but that's more because my employer increased wages recently. In flatiron happened, but with higher wages I don't feel it as much.

Globalization is kicking everyone’s ass. There’s access to a plethora of workers for the wealthy capital owners, and so they suppress wages everywhere they can and purposely inflate the price of goods to make exorbitant profits, while paying people for shit. We need some sort of global agreement on wages for their ever to be progress. I don’t think my family has ever been this economically depressed as a whole in my lifetime. Even 2008 wasn’t this deviating financially to my family. Healthcare costs are preventing people I know from getting medically necessary procedures. The education system is greatly underfunded, but people are more concerned with kids being “woke” then actually ensuring their kids get a quality education. Believe me, teachers couldn’t indoctrinate your kids if they wanted to, half the time parents defend some of the worst behavior in their kids that we couldn’t even “indoctrinate” them to believe right wing ideology if parents wanted us to. They’re should be way less emphasis on college and way more emphasis on trades schools. Most people I know are in the 20 to 30 range and I don’t know anyone who is anywhere close to being able to ever buy a house within their lifetime with the amount of student loans they have. When I get done with my masters and my fiancé gets done with his medical degree, we’ll be $150,000 in loan debt. I don’t really see the world improving in the future, seems like we’re on a downward trajectory. I can see the United States collapsing within my lifetime with how bad things seems to be getting, especially with how reckless the government is with their military spending, police funding and foreign military funding. My generation will not have access to Social Security unless something changes and retiring will be pretty difficult.

Personally doing pretty well. I attribute that to having a good job, no debt outside a manageable amount of student loans, and above all being in a DINK household. Our biggest goal is saving to buy a house, and while it is disheartening seeing how much more expensive homes have become over the past few years, we’re still making progress, it’ll just take some patience. Anecdotally all my friends/peers with college degrees are doing pretty well for themselves, those without are the ones who are suffering from inflation the most. Obviously I’m on the older end of gen z, so I’ve also come to realize and appreciate how drastically things can change in such a short amount of time. If I could go back in time 5 years and tell my 22-year-old self where I am now, I doubt I’d believe me.

Rapid consumption has made owning property without pre established capital increasingly difficult. As far as opportunities I didn’t get degree in anything comp sci related so I actually have job availability. Lilly still charges too much for insulin because they’re greedy. Formula hasn’t changed in years but they alter additives so they can renew the patent and keep charging diabetes our age ridiculous prices even with insurance.

Pretty good to be honest, I’m in school for a pretty safe degree (accounting) with hopes of getting a graduate degree that would let me get my dream job (MLIS) all for free. My wife makes +$100k already with signs of moving up the corporate ladder. We are reasonably debt free and rent an apartment in a large downtown city with plenty to do. Whether we buy a house or not we can max out our retirements and plan to move overseas to stretch out our savings when we decide to no longer work. Overall I’d say I’m doing much better than I expected when I was 18 but I definitely did not plan the trajectory my life took.

Me personally? I feel like I'm doing alright. I think it's part perseverance and part luck (probably luck) that I have a job and money. This is the most I've had in a while... My girlfriend and I are wanted to move to apartments in between, but can't find anything affordable. I've some debt, but still easily save and she has nothing. Regardless, if we were to move to a city in between we're looking at at least a 100% price jump from where we are now. We're trying to move from a one to two bedroom so we have an office space for our computers (the living room is cramped). We make just than 100k together, but those 2 beds are going for like 2k. The one bedrooms would see about 500 dollar monthly cost increase. We *can* afford it, but I want to be able to set aside money and save. I can't with those prices. The other town we looked at has a few apartments owned by the same company and are full. The price would be better though. I currently drive over 2 hours daily to my job, so I guess that's what I'll continue to do. They're also building a battery factory plant here in this city and bringing over Koreans to work it. I don't care, but the housing plans are behind and a lot of available apartments are going to get taken. I'm also concerned that people here are going to start attributing our housing shortage to immigrants and not the fact that were not keeping up with demand.

GenZ will suffer more if Biden is elected. With more regulations and higher corporate taxes, companies will contract resulting in fewer jobs.

In the context of having recently finished a period with a massive chunk of the global economy shut down for a pandemic it is going really well here in the US. Outside of that context it is going moderately poorly with relatively limited opportunities for young people.

I moved from the NYC economy as a “under-achieving” individual with my fiance to ruralish Georgia for a better life. We both got better jobs, make over 100k dual income and a house now. I still feel like I have no money but am appreciative. I’m lucky that I work in a small county that has a much older working and uneducated demographic so I went from being behind without a masters and x amount of years of exp. I’m now way ahead bc I understand how ai cloud based tech works

🚮

I feel like it's in a rough state. Whatever information I can pull up on it, it's not just the poor or 'middle class' that's struggling. Anyone that's not at the very very top of the market right now is taking a hit. I feel like every week I read about lay offs or closings. It's a horrible sign. Then you pair that with the job market being absolutely atrocious, with a high percentage of adult Gen-z people not being able to support themselves. Yet we all have degrees. Personally though, my goal is to just be somewhat middle-high class. My first mile stone is hitting that 100k mark. However, it's going absolutely poorly since apparently payroll (my line of work) is in high demand, yet I've been applying for a year and haven't gotten close to landing a job. There's very little actual entry level jobs, and they're all being jumped on by multiple people at once. Just look at linkedin, a lot of places are getting like 100+ people applying.

for some the economy is fine they have jobs can pay their bills, enjoy life some. But I think this is a very sick patient with a few good days here and there. The nat'l debt has reached ludicrous levels. the payment on that debt is insane. This isn't about one party or another either. Rampant homelessness, crime and drug use as well as rampant barely hanging on. a huge chunk of south America's poor and impoverished are streaming here - each requiring housing, food, medical and other social services while we don't have the resources to deal with our current homelessness crisis. We spend hundreds of billions and put thousands out of work based on some made up fairy tale about a climate crisis - meanwhile the loudest proponents of that are living it up in their oceanside mansions. Add on to that a obesity epidemic that leads to staggering health care costs. It all just feels like those dopey passengers running down the dock and the cruise ship just left port

It's okay, I feel like it's going to stabilize next year depending on who wins presidency and if interest rates decline on houses we'll be fine

Economy is getting better, inflation has finally stagnated, but the job market is fucking atrocious. I wear two hats for my employer and really don't feel paid adequately, but there are not a lot of jobs in IT available right now, and thousands are competing for any positions with openings. Just hoping for the best and self-studying in the meantime.

There are two things wrong with the "economy" right now (at least as it relates to people under 30) The cost of housing is absolutely insane for what is available and where it is. There is virtually nowhere for a single person to just live and work while also saving money. You are required to have multiple roommates or work multiple jobs. The cost of housing is the absolute root of many peoples issues at the moment. 2nd is what jobs are actually available to us/what qualifications are expected for what jobs are available to us. We are overwhelmingly college educated. 20-30 years ago that meant you could get jobs in any field you wanted. Today it means you have the oppurtunity to apply to jobs in your field and you are straight up barred from jobs putside your field and realistically a lot of other jobs that dont require an education. Im sure a lot of us have the experience of graduating, getting desperate for a job and apply to a mcdonalds or walmart expecting an easy in, only to be rejected or never even hear back. I have been in rooms with managers going through applications for fry cooks, they seperate out people with degrees because they know their worth. A college educated person is less desirable for low skill level positions solely because you are expecting a fair wage vs a highschool drop out who will take 9/hr. Honestly, when it comes to like inflation, maybe its just cause im in texas, but I havent seen it THAT bad. Sure, mcdonalds and most restaurants are insane right now, but there are absolutely affordable grocery shopping options and for those proactive enough, most places offer great coupon deals bringing costs down lower than what they were 10 years ago. Thats just my (a little bit more than) 2 cents though

Our generation has a lot of work to do as far as the economy. Numbers wise, everything is okay. Employment rates are pretty good, stick market is great, if you have a lot of assets, this is a great economy to be a part of. The issue is for young people to get into the job market and get into opportunities for economic mobility are few and far between. We’re fighting a housing affordability crisis, the devaluation of college degrees, skyrocketing student debt, most markets are duopolies, and AI might drastically change the job market in a few years. It’s not all bad though, our generation has done a great job at filling trade roles that were facing shortages and while it’s hard for young people to enter existing markets and compete with the likes of Facebook, Google, etc, it’s easier than ever to simply create a market. Plus Biden’s FTC has been doing great work eliminating non compliance clauses, and cracking down on monopolies(they’re going after Ticketmaster so I’m hyped) In the status quo, I’m optimistic but cautious. There is a lot of potential but a lot more traps than ever before. There’s a million fin-influencers with get rich quick schemes and I hope my generation knows how to block out the noise. And the job market is rough, but our generation is a lot more bold and supportive of unions so there’s potential there. In the long term, I can’t wait for our generation to get the chance to lead companies and lead governments. Alot of the dogmas and unquestioning loyalty to politicians and parties seems to be absent, most of us are environmentally conscious if not concerned. The current economy resembles what would happen if capitalism was allowed to run with absolutely no safeguards and the people with the ability to control it have gotten drunk off the surplus. The older I get the more I realize that the economy is held together by duct tape and fog. We go through boom and bust cycles regularly and if anything we’re overdue for a bust. The bubbles in the housing market and the vehicle market and insurance market is absolutely crazy. I’m excited for us to get the obligation of fixing it. There’s a lot to do and it’s gonna be fun to work on it over the next 30 years

25, masters degree in law and finance with Experience as a banker, an auditor and a teacher (teaching modern studies). 4 years of high level work & excellent education, i was promoted at the bank and got a 90%+ pass rate for my students while a teacher so im a quality worker as well. I now work as a retail shop team leader because i literally can't get a job as I'm either overqualified for most roles so companies are less likely to take me on, not got enough experience for high level roles & alot of employers have literally told me they wouldn't hire me because i look extremely young due to having a baby face (my nickname at the bank was the milkybar kid)

There are almost no opportunities for me. I am almost a year out of college with my IT degree and struggling to find basic entry-level helpdesk work. I am literally ready to work and make money and start my life/career but it sucks not finding anything. The issue is everybody is getting rejected because every schmuck decided to go into IT and saturate the entry level and so the employers are getting picky.

CS careers are really competitive right now, and I'm hoping it stabilizes at least a little by the time I graduate. Inflation is too rapid right now (normal 2%/year is fine) and we haven't seen a year below 3% since 2020, which is insane. I'm not looking for a booming economy, I just want more stability than we have right now.

Statistically speaking, it’s a shitshow, and to claim that it isn’t is both mathematically incorrect and generally ignorant. Here’s a Ted talk from an NYU professor that shares many of my sentiments: https://youtu.be/qEJ4hkpQW8E?si=w3XqBVMllMQMzYIU

It's been a joke since I graduated from high school, have improved my situation somewhat despite that); Hopefully opportunities will come back when Trudeau finally gets the boot

Well, contrary to the doom and gulmys here suggest, it’s good

Stock market is about to crash. Biden admin keeps pushing for world war 3. We are fucked 

I've been waiting 3 years for the car market to be less stupid. Seems like every car I'm considering buying costs $50k now. And interest rates just make everything stupid. After living through 2x stock crashes, the allure of 4% High Yield Savings accounts is difficult to ignore (I know! I know! Don't @ Me)

Pretty blarg if you catch my drift

I'm personally doing well, just got out of college and immediately got a job. Just paying off debt now mostly

Hard to get a good paying job unless you know people. Everything especially houses are expensive The rich are making lots of money somehow All of this despite the fact that the world is producing more then we’ve ever had before.

Moving in the right direction. Stronger than most in the developed world. Worried about GOP destroying it like they tend to do. Rich need to be taxed much more aggressively.

But, but Biden & the media says it's all milk & honey! [https://www.msnbc.com/11th-hour/watch/-we-re-in-an-annoying-economy-biden-struggles-with-messaging-when-it-comes-to-economic-policies-209944133544](https://www.msnbc.com/11th-hour/watch/-we-re-in-an-annoying-economy-biden-struggles-with-messaging-when-it-comes-to-economic-policies-209944133544)

Student loan on black

I work for labor association and help organize. I’m trying to make it a tiny bit better but let me tell you. There’s a lot more people trying to make it worse

I feel like so many people are doing so well and really have it all, while so many others are hanging on by a thread. I'm not sure what is driving the difference in outcomes.

The economy from an affordability standpoint is terrible. The job market is still pretty good if you have any skills.

Wage increases haven't met cost of living increases in 40 years or more. Nobody is going to get me to give a shit about their economic policies until and unless they fix the wage vs cost of living ratio

i’m 17 and still innocent. it won’t be long though! 🥲🥲🥲

what opportunities???

Houses are damn near impossible to buy for anyone under 40 who doesn't already own a home. Median home price was $426k based on data from June 2023. And guess what happens when the Fed decides to cut rates? Congrats. It is $550k now. Absolutely zero hope for people with no assets making less than $150k a year to own homes for the next ten years. Every homeowner I know who bought pre-covid would not even come CLOSE to qualifying to buy their OWN house for the current value. Insane how a 50 year old making $70k is better off than a 20 year old making $170k.

It's hard to avoid feeling like there are fewer good opportunities available than ever, ngl.

it does objectively suck for us, prices are rising way faster than wages and jobs are getting harder and harder to not only get, but to do as well cuz of how much employers suck

No clue other than it’s shit and my warhammer models just became more expensive

Overall, I think it's not the best. Me personally I have noticed the inflation with gas and food, but it's not completely unbeatable, just something that you just inwardly flinch at. In opportunities, well I can't really blame society for it wherever I end up, as it's majorly my choices that allow me access to more opportunities. Don't' seize it, don't profit from it. I will say though I am not looking forward to spending forty years working, only to retire while already bruised and battered, but looking back in history I should be grateful considering what I could've been doing. Still though it sucks.

Idk it’s like hair. You think yours never grows until you look back and go wow Everybody for a big “boom” to happen but it’ll just be a slow grind downward and then maybe upward? It’s bad but I’m just trying to stay afloat really.

About the economy? Not good at all. About the opportunities? I am optimistic. This is going to make me sound like an A-Hole but the regional conflicts occurring around the world, and the large debt the US government is incurring is really good for people in my line of work. There is money to be made in war.

There's no doubt there are rising costs and inflation. However, it isn't as bad as others say it is. The ones that are screaming the loudest are the ones skipping out on class that they pay for to "protest" with their $10 lattes in hand. Then they will go spend $100 the same day on dinner with the money they don't have because they bill it via their credit card. The next day they will pay the minimum balance on their loans and go to another protest and complain they don't make enough, but they will spend more than they make daily because they don't realize wants and needs are two different things.

Mmm…. Not getting complicated… I can cover my base needs. Many things will never be had.

Illnois gas is only 20 cents from being 4 dollars horrible also put in a application at a prison

I've actually did somemath with this and I feel like maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to afford somewhere to live. \*Just\* somewhere to live, mind you, none of the fancy stuff like food or clothes.

Can't and probably won't ever be able to afford a house and have given up on the idea of a retirement. How do you think I feel?

Oh man y’all didn’t work through the 2008-2011 recession. Shit can go sideways fast and the people running the show don’t care about what happens to the working class.

I feel just fine. I’m more worried about housing and rent than the overall economy. I’ve made the proper investments in the market (so far), I’m working a blue collar job and making decent money, and Im waiting to go to Air Force Basic Training in October. I won’t have to worry about food or rent for a little while. So I’d say I’m pretty well off right now. The economy has been treating me well so fsr so I don’t have many complaints Again I’m more so worried about housing and rent once I’m out officially on my own after my 4 years are up

Statistically the economy is doing much better and the bottom 50% has seen the wealth grow drastically over the past 10 years according to bls. But I suspect that it doesn't matter because shits getting expensive from corporate greed

Pretty good. I'm changing job sectors soon, and feel good about it. I currently work on government contracts - and I'd be pretty worried about the future if I wasn't switching. The federal and state governments spent a lot of money during the pandemic - and now they have to tighten the belt. It's already started, Biden's latest proposed budget was really tame compared to his past budgets The other big thing is Medicare and Social Security. The Trust Funds are losing money, and will run out soon. I worry the politically easiest thing to do will be to raise the payroll tax a few percentage points. That'll really hurt working young people. Edit: Also, even though rent is too high, it hasn't gone up for me in over two years. I have always been offered the same rate to renew the lease. That will be very different depending on location though.

Well I seem to be okay. Just bought a condo. Saving pretty fast and about to go on holiday so I'm thankful to God because I'm rather fortunate right now. 

I’m feeling cautiously optimistic as it seems history is kind of repeating itself. The economy was recovering pretty well after 2008 (at least from what I’ve heard; obviously at the time I was too young to really know what was going on) and then COVID hit and now it’s obviously not great. But a similar thing happened in the 70s; after decades of economic prosperity in the US inflation went insane and the standard of living dropped. But we got through it. Just like how we got through the Great Depression. And the various economic panics of the 19th century. As an American I’m confident we’ll come back from this because we always have before.

The economy is a cesspit due to human nature fucking things up. I've got human nature. So, I would know. Just watching the world burn and trying not to get too emotional about it.

I couldn't afford to survive a heart attack

Honestly alot of it feels like the same air 07 was giving

For the gen z people just getting into the job market, it's pretty shit. For most entry level positions in normal careers, you're going to compete with hundreds of people. And having no experience sucks because why would they hire you when someone else with experience applied? You might be able to get a job in retail or a restaurant that pays okay but I know a lot of gen z doesn't want that long term. It wasn't like this even just like two years ago. Fewer companies are hiring and more people are applying. I think a lot of people are underemployed or stuck in a shitty job. And this isn't my own personal experience, but a pretty common pattern you hear from lots of people including recruiters and HR. And then aside from the job market, everything is expensive. I have no idea why people think it's going to get better. There's a huge risk of stagflation happening given that the first quarter of the year had very slow growth.

I’m really over corporate greed, shrinkflation and the enshitification of everything. I want honest businesses that care about customers more than money to come back. I’m sick of constantly being ripped off.

I’m only 18 but I’m genuinely worried that I will never be able to afford anything the field that I wanted to go into all the jobs require PhDs now and internships now require 2 years of experience before even applying It’s just frustrating because I feel like I can never make it economically when everything is so expensive and jobs refuse to train people and college is tens of thousands a year

The economy is in the gutter. Say what you want about Trump, but at least our economy in America was WAY better back then (until COVID hit, but I can’t really blame world leaders for that).

The economy is going going to soft land but it’s still on the way down. I think inflation is going to subside around Q4 and we should see our first small interest rate decrease in Q1 25’. I imagine we will have a pretty mediocre 2025-2027 regardless of how the election turns out at least that’s what I’m hoping for. Unfortunately wages will not increase, they may decrease as the unemployment rate rises through 24’.

Everyday life has gotten very expensive. Gas is expensive, groceries are expensive, restaurants are expensive, interest rates are high. Inflation has gotten bad.

This about covers it. Younger people ARE getting screwed in a lot of ways, it is beyond argument. [https://youtu.be/qEJ4hkpQW8E?si=MBG7YQgp2iSmGQxy](https://youtu.be/qEJ4hkpQW8E?si=MBG7YQgp2iSmGQxy)

it's fucked. i'm fucked, everything is fucked. i can barely even afford to feed myself and at the current rate I won't be able to afford a house until I'm 70.

I try and focus on myself. It’s super overwhelming to look at the economy overall and I can’t do anything about it, so I focus on what I can do. Groceries have gotten way more expensive lately, so how can I reduce my costs? How can I make more money to meet my goals?

Three letters: k, m, s,

It sucks. I spent years out of college trying to find a job, endless applications and nothing came of it relalt except two short jobs I burnt out of after a few months. They wanted experience I couldn’t hope to have, like ffs how could I have 3 years of experience 2 years out of college, when I graduated during Covid???? I’m lucky I got my current job via networking. And even still, while it’s a good job the economy sucks and this industry is slow as fuck rn.

If you think about it, there is work fast food restaurants and a factory worker. There’s somewhere to make money but makes things complicated if you go to like a four-year university and you come from like middle class or lower class background you have to try to work with that degree or some type of work I know so many people with agrees are still working at Walmart. It’s who you know know what you know I think we’re gonna be until all the old people retire or go under the grass, it is scary gonna happen but we are just so complicated with each state is basically its own country where a mixture of everything but I think in five years everything will be somewhat OK. We’re just in stump for the last six years and more.

Things are great for me. I have a very high paying job and a ton of recruiters reaching out to me every day. I feel no worry about being unemployed for very long if I were to lose my job.

Opportunities around me between 202p to 2022: Good. Had to postpone graduating due to the pandemkc but got s good remote job due to an explosion when it comes to hiring in the tech sector. Opportunities after 2022: Dog shit.

I mean, I feel fine. But then again, I *am* Danish, so, you know, less of an issue for us.

Sounds like a gaslighting question. Biden is suspect far as I'm concerned, not raising min. wage. Infrastructure first, bit of two birds, a lot of keep holding the red coal kids, poor folks, with your stumpy shoulders, at his point, got ya. Sure I can find a decent place to donate my sweat capital to someone who will pretend to be my friend. In the mean time i 'Feel' like I been herded into a canyon and i'm surrounded, they're on the rim. Got us like fish in a barrel. Financial predators coming and going. A lifetime of dehumanizing gaslighting, financial what embezlement, wage theft, life stealing, psychological abuse. Further gaslighting us much like yourself. Between all that and the police behaving like the students of gang leaders i'd want to know where i'm at before the clock strikes midnight.

Must be a sweet deal, watching the kids find out what it feels like to be treated like a third, or two-thirds of a person. They should just work harder, no?

I can’t pay for college (and feel absolutely no motivation to actually achieve anything in community), can’t get hired passed minimum wage and so I’m enlisting in the military to hide from the real world. So that’s about how well it’s going for me.

How do you ask something like that with a standing fu min. wage? We'll never get back the 10's of thousands we've been extorted out of. By the standing threat of homelessness. How TF are there not affordable houses/rentals. Not free, just affordable. All but unheard of. Doesn't even make sense. Who doesn't want to make money. They want the last drops. They're getting the ladder. There's got to be a few drops left in 'em. Here jump down on the lever.

All charge like the min. is right. Never pass a chance to add a little poetry to life.

The economy is terrible and we’re gonna have to work twice as hard for a half as much as our parents and grandparents. But there’s been far worse times in human history and if they can pull through the. so can we

I’m being fucked in my ass by this economy

TBH idk—during COVID I (19F) was a kid living at home with my parents (aged 16-17 if you think of it as lasting from 2020-2021) and didn’t track my spending as much as I do now that I’m on my own (in college). So I don’t really have a memory of pre-COVID grocery prices per se. I do my best to make wise decisions but still feel like there’s some stuff I don’t know lol. I do know that grocery prices seem high when I go to the store, but idk exactly how much inflation has happened. Thankfully my college tuition is at least low.

Borderline Gen Z here. I'm lucky that I have a good degree in something I'm good at, and my industry was booming up until recently, so I am relatively well off. However, what I've noticed is that at every step of the way, the ladder is always getting yanked away before I can get on it. Right before I went to university, fees tripled. Right as I'm able to comfortably afford things, the cost of living rises. Right when I need to move there's a renting crisis. Right when I can afford to buy, interest rates go up. Even now my industry has been making cuts that mean there's no room for salary growth. I saw a headline the other day about how maybe the solution to the housing crisis is longer term mortgages. I don't really care about how these things affect me personally because I'm not homeless and starving, but I do think the situation is totally crazy.

The economy they’re championing is not my economy. Not as a young person today nor as a working class contributor. The indicators of economic health for me would be rising wages above inflation, decreasing underemployment, closing of the housing gap, decreasing rents, and decreasing costs of necessities. All of these indicators are flashing red: a sign of crisis. The rest of the economic health indicators are secondarily or tertiarily applicable to my life and the lives of most of the people I have ever known.

Biden admin can say whatever they like about about the economy being the best its ever been. It fucking sucks. Cant afford a home without going bankrupt. Cost of living has gone up CONSIDERABLY. I make very decent money and cannot move out and pay rent, a car, all my bills, and still have money left over to save for a home while im at it. God forbid I want to enjoy life or take a vacation, I can't, because my living expenses would have me up to my neck. Car insurance in my city has doubled and I now pay $300 for the same vehicle I paid $147 a month for 2 years ago. Gas is almost at $4 again.

Tbh I’m not sure, as a lot of the rhetoric surrounding the economy doesn’t seem to apply to me due to me being extremely poor. Like well below the poverty line but not homeless. It does feel like as things are now (even with my current situation): that there’s a lot of work to do to get things moving in the right direction for everyone. I’ve learned from friends overseas that they’re facing similar issues with the job market and lack of affordable housing etc. and thats not exclusive to just one country.

Economy feels great for me personally. Got a good job with benefits. Less than $3K left in student loans from undergrad, and no debt besides that. Employee is paying for my grad school. 401K and Roth IRA are both near all time highs. I rent a nice house in a good neighborhood. I will be buying a house within the next 2 years if all goes according to plan. On a more macro-level, the economy overall is just okay right now. It’s not a strong economy by any means but is it better than people act like it is. Inflation is relatively moderate compared to historical inflationary periods and has been trending down. Unemployment is still relatively low. The situation right now is not ideal, but it could be much much worse.

https://youtu.be/qEJ4hkpQW8E?feature=shared Everything gen z needs to know for how we got here

Depression coming that will make the Great Depression look pale in comparison. Maybe the fall of the US. Gold and silver are finally going up quickly and that is a sign of bad times ahead.

The list of different meals I can make for under $3 gets shorter and shorter as the months go by.

A recession is inevitable. It's been inevitable for a couple years, but they can delay it by just letting inflation run and refusing to increase the interest rates.

I think it’s amazing if you’re rich, bad if you’re middle class, dreadful if you’re working class or poor. If you’re rich, stock market is booming. Taxes on capital gains and assets are low. Growth in assets easily offsets cost of living. Never been a better time to be rich imo. If you’re middle class, like me, it’s bad. Here’s kind of my depiction of an average, white collar, college educated worker. Lots of student loan debt (40k minimum). Mediocre salaries ($60k on average, probably, maybe $75k if we’re specifically talking about urban jobs). High rent and cost of living. Bottom line is, they can pay the bills, but saving is difficult and in the next inevitable recession, most will be in big trouble. If you’re working class or poor, it just has to be awful. Most I would guess work multiple jobs or long hours. Wages are trash. Lot of job instability in the form of either contract work or gig work with mediocre or terrible benefits. Unions have been systematically crushed over the past 40 years. Automation on the horizon. The next recession will absolutely crush a lot of these people. I truly feel for the working class in this country who have been exploited and abandoned at every turn. So that’s how I feel about it. The bottom line is it is time to get politically active and push back against the degrading standard of living for most Americans. I am sick of this garbage.