4 ms·

A lot of people who have received "generous unemployment benefits" are using it to scrape together rent and keep themselves fed. They never had the money for tr

A lot of people who have received "generous unemployment benefits" are using it to scrape together rent and keep themselves fed. They never had the money for traveling or going out, and they don't have that money for shopping now.

bko 5y ago
Some people, sure. But if most people were using it to pay rent and keep themselves fed, the savings rate wouldn't have shot up. Take a look at the definition of personal savings rate: > Personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income (DPI), frequently referred to as "the personal saving rate," is calculated as the ratio of personal saving to DPI. > Personal saving is equal to personal income less personal outlays and personal taxes; it may generally be viewed as the portion of personal income that is used either to provide funds to capital markets or to invest in real assets such as residences.(https://www.bea.gov/national/pdf/all-chapters.pdf https://www.bea.gov/national/pdf/all-chapters.pdf)
- banannaise 5y ago
  You're conflating the pandemic with the pandemic stimulus. The savings rate shot up among the classes that remained employed but whose expenses fell through the floor. These people got little of the unemployment benefits, and many were also above the threshold for the stimulus checks.
  - bko 5y ago
    I'm not making a moral judgement. When you look at broad economic trends you need to consider the aggregate. Some people are worse off, but on the aggregate people had more disposable income which I believe is driving up asset prices and now consumer prices
  - s1artibartfast 5y ago
    I think you are conflating pandemic stimulus with unemployment relief. I largely agree that saving for the poorest hasn't gone up. Anyone with investments came out of pandemic great from all of the market stimulus. It would be interesting to see how much of the increased spending and saving is coming from different demographics. Is it people so saved a few thousand from skipping a vacation, or people who saw a hundred thousand dollars added to their retirement account?

bko 5y ago

Some people, sure. But if most people were using it to pay rent and keep themselves fed, the savings rate wouldn't have shot up. Take a look at the definition of personal savings rate: > Personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income (DPI), frequently referred to as "the personal saving rate," is calculated as the ratio of personal saving to DPI. > Personal saving is equal to personal income less personal outlays and personal taxes; it may generally be viewed as the portion of personal income that is used either to provide funds to capital markets or to invest in real assets such as residences.(https://www.bea.gov/national/pdf/all-chapters.pdf https://www.bea.gov/national/pdf/all-chapters.pdf)

banannaise 5y ago
You're conflating the pandemic with the pandemic stimulus. The savings rate shot up among the classes that remained employed but whose expenses fell through the floor. These people got little of the unemployment benefits, and many were also above the threshold for the stimulus checks.
- bko 5y ago
  I'm not making a moral judgement. When you look at broad economic trends you need to consider the aggregate. Some people are worse off, but on the aggregate people had more disposable income which I believe is driving up asset prices and now consumer prices
- s1artibartfast 5y ago
  I think you are conflating pandemic stimulus with unemployment relief. I largely agree that saving for the poorest hasn't gone up. Anyone with investments came out of pandemic great from all of the market stimulus. It would be interesting to see how much of the increased spending and saving is coming from different demographics. Is it people so saved a few thousand from skipping a vacation, or people who saw a hundred thousand dollars added to their retirement account?