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Back in 2019 when this was written, the US was economically doing well. Unemployment was at a 15-year minimum (1), net compensation was increasing for the middl
by ravel-bar-foo 4y ago
Back in 2019 when this was written, the US was economically doing well. Unemployment was at a 15-year minimum (1), net compensation was increasing for the middle/lower classes at the fastest rate in 20 years (2), and productivity was up. The economic crash started in Jan/Feb 2020 upon Covid worries, and then just kept on going with supply and demand shocks.
(1) https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/unemployment-rate https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/unemployment-rate
(2) https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/COLA/central.html https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/COLA/central.html
- caslon 4y agoNone of what you're saying implies things were good in 2019, though. It just implies things were getting better compared to the last two crashes we'd had, in theory, for some people. I think people have a right to feel angry, and I don't think the pandemic is the thing that caused it.
- refurb 4y agoIf things weren't good in 2019, then they've never been good. Seriously. In 20 years people will look back on the post-2008 economic frenzy like they look back on the Clinton years.
- caslon 4y agoHave they ever been good? I come from a long lineage of people who had a parent die while they were still children. Sure doesn't seem like the good's been equitable or balanced.
- ravel-bar-foo 4y agoThe US Gini coefficient has been rising for 70 years, but life expectancies are high. So yes, better than ever for the median person, but also less equitable than ever.