I have had this dream for a while now that the major media networks displayed real income changes next to the Dow and other stock tickers. Just so normal people are reminded of how their money is doing compared to rich people's money.
this post was submitted on 01 May 2025
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Do you have the formula for that? I might be up for doing that here on Lemmy locally once a month or so.
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And what metric is this measured in? Big Macs?
It is a unitless measure, since you divide income (euro) by price of goods and services (euro).
Entry level codling job, 3.2 - 4.5 Big Macs/hour 17 years of experience in Java, PHP, Rust, Python, Cobol, C#, C++ and Typescript required
For decades, 'middle class' in America was one income supporting a family of four. In those days, $1 million was considered a vast fortune. Then Reagan got elected. By 1993, when Bush Sr. left office, 'middle class' was two incomes to run the home, and $1 million was what a rich guy spent on a party.
They blame it on women wanting careers and a life outside homemaking.
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Wrong community?
Economics just redefines terms as needed for the moment. Recession is really a label that can't really be applied until after you're in it anyway.
Inflation has also gotten watered down to be less meaningful once it started being a problem.
Inflation got watered down, what do you mean? It's just math for inflation. Capitalism uses inflation as a tool to expand the economy but at the end of the day by the definition listed on the post they are just saying if your wage doesn't increase faster than the inflation your life resources are in recession. That's at least how I read it. If you can't buy as much shit as you used to, you're doing worse. Which happens to individuals without happening to everyone, but if the average person can't buy as much shit as they could before, then it seems like recession is an adequate term.
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That isn't really the definition though. Real income can fall in a recession but it's not necessarily a recession just because incomes fell. Real income can increase or decrease both during a recession and not during a recession. It's a lot more complicated than "when your income declines there is a recession".
The U.S. has been in a recession since Reagan according to the wording right? Housing and such vs wages shows its been in downfall since.
I was a kid in the Reagan years and I can certainly buy shitloads more now than as a young adult. As you say, housing and wages are shit, but I can afford things that were unthinkable back then. For comparison, I was making minimum wage as a 1990 college kid, basically am now at $15/hr.
I'm probably not making sense, but the goods available to me now are stunning compared to previous decades. And I'm not only talking about compute power, but while we're there... Dad got me a VIC-20 in the 80s, $1,700 in today's money. For that much I can outfit a family of four with decent phones and likely pay less monthly than our AT&T bill in the day. And what's "long distance"?
My water bill was around $20 in the 90s, still is today. I had all the tools to cut my water, gas and power back on, I was that poor. Even at $15/hr. I can easily pay all that along with my wife's $17hr. (Always had roommates or live-in girlfriends, same difference.)
Education and housing prices have exploded, but not so much other stuff. My first ever real shopping trip was $75 (1990), that's $175 in 2025. $220 is our usual Aldi bill and I'm buying shrimp, chicken, beef, good stuff. Guess I'm saying that consumer goods and services are shitloads cheaper, or were. Give us a few months.
And as ever, I'm fucked once again on health care. Guess where I live.
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...that isn't what a recession means. I mean decreasing buying power is concerning but there are lots of times when that can happen when the economy is hot. In fact, a weakening economy can lead to deflation which increases buying power.
So something like when d[income*(1-unemployment)]/dt < inflation, that's a recession?
…that isn’t what a recession means. I mean decreasing buying power is concerning but there are lots of times when that can happen when the economy is hot. In fact, a weakening economy can lead to deflation which increases buying power.
You can't say all that and not tell us what you think it is. Also, I think they're talking overall, not the top 10% buying power.
Well, the official definition is when GDP contracts for 2 straight quarters (although apparently the fed can fudge that a little bit if the decline is negligible and unemployment goes up, like what happened under Biden)
I edited this in, but you might have missed it. He's saying real income is equal to the GDP. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAZxLm6M_V0
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And if real income falls, that’s called a recession.
But by that metric, rich people would never experience a recession. If that's the case, why do we allow them to cause a recession for the rest of us? Madness.
Why indeed
I can see the lightbulb over your head lighting up..
Yes, great. Now actually do something with it.
we're too comfortable with life's conveniences, and then throw some apathy on top
It's a huge example of the bystander effect. It would only take a handful of people to change the situation.
By doing what? Posting where the CEOs live so people can .... protest. Yea, dox them and/or track movements to organize totally non-violent protests.
Stalk the shit out of them and show up carrying signs. Work in shifts if they come to your area.
It felt like "shoot them in the streets" was plainly obvious a few months ago but that's harder than an Instagram story.
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TIL every year with a rent increase is a recession. Whenever housing prices increase faster than income that's a recession. When college tuition goes up faster than incomes that's a recession.
Yeah, we've been in a recession since the 70s and never stopped.
pretty much. sometimes did not seem so since we racked up debt to offset. At one point it was considered unsustainable for a country to function with debt/gdp over 100%
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I'm reading this to That's Amore.
Wheeeeeen youuuuuur
Bank accounts dry
And it makes-a you cry
Thats Recessiooooon
when the world seems on fire
but you're told that it's fine
that's depression
It's a-me, a-recession-o!
.... is there a brother?
Real question is are there more brothers?
Just Regular Giuseppe, to my knowledge.
It's your own personal recession, aren't we lucky?
Your own / personal / recession
Someone to stall your sleep
Someone who creeps
Reach out, charge me!
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