Originally Posted by La lamy (Post 2282035)

I know I've been very fortunate to have been employed doing what I wanted until I chose to retire at 55. But I WORKED MY ASS OFF to train for it and keep getting better. I came from a middle class family where all was paid with cash, DEBT WAS ABSOLUTELY NOT AN OPTION. So we held our cars and clothes until they were run down, only went to restaurants on special occasions, built/repaired everything ourselves, and went camping for holidays. Nowadays it seems the younger generation want their parent's hard earned standard of living right away instead of slowly working towards it. I see videos of young people whining they have it bad, while they're in their car!!! I didn't have a car until I could fully pay for it. Big difference. I blame lack of work ethics, humility, and credit cards/loans, for a lot of the woes.

Originally Posted by Blackbird45 (Post 2282048)

If the issue is the media, you have to understand no matter what you watch or what you're leaning, the media will hype whatever story they can get their hands on. If the media does not go to extremes either positive or negative most people would not pay attention.

Originally Posted by Altavia (Post 2281638)

It seems like all we hear from the media lately is how bad off we are – when the facts say just the opposite.

One point of view:

5 Questions I Have About the Economy - A Wealth of Common Sense

Originally Posted by asianthree (Post 2281728)

I hope so or there was something very wrong with parenting skills. One Learns by mistake made, and hopes to improve next gens life.

Originally Posted by La lamy (Post 2282035)

I know I've been very fortunate to have been employed doing what I wanted until I chose to retire at 55. But I WORKED MY ASS OFF to train for it and keep getting better. I came from a middle class family where all was paid with cash, DEBT WAS ABSOLUTELY NOT AN OPTION. So we held our cars and clothes until they were run down, only went to restaurants on special occasions, built/repaired everything ourselves, and went camping for holidays. Nowadays it seems the younger generation want their parent's hard earned standard of living right away instead of slowly working towards it. I see videos of young people whining they have it bad, while they're in their car!!! I didn't have a car until I could fully pay for it. Big difference. I blame lack of work ethics, humility, and credit cards/loans, for a lot of the woes.

Originally Posted by cjrjck (Post 2281712)

Seriously, did you even read the article?

1. Why do people keep spending money if the economy is so terrible? We are spending money like crazy. That has to be a good thing, right? But wait:
2. Total credit card debt going over a round number like $1 trillion is scary. Uh oh. But let's not forget inflation is up 20 percent since 2020 so spending isn't as bad as it seems. Author just skims over the "inflation is up 20 percent" in 3 years like that is not a big deal in and of itself.
3. Young people in the first-time homebuyer stage of life have it worst of all, but don't worry,
4. Baby boomers will start dying off in 2030 freeing up home inventory. What? Like all of sudden despite inflation and record household debt Gen Zers will magically be able to afford new homes after the boomers leave the scene? Right.The article in Quoting The Atlantic says it is going to be a long time until houses are affordable again but the author is optimistic things will eventually get better. How quaint. I'll go a step further and say things will eventually get better, then worse, then better..... Hey it will rain, and then stop, then rain again.
5. Are economic sentiment gauges broken forever?Author tries to make a point that the economy is going strong despite how people feel about it. It's our fault for feeling like we do. I just look up at the previous points raised that household debt (and public debt) is higher than it has ever been, that inflation is up 20 percent over the last three years, and that young people (and many older people) can't afford to buy a house and likely won't for a long time and I have to wonder how you saw anything positive in this article? Still, I can't fault a person who sees a silver lining in a very dark cloud. Maybe we all need that perspective.

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive (Post 2281798)

“If it bleeds, it leads”.

Bad news draws viewers and generates hits. Good news, as a rule, doesn’t. And don’t forget that media is profit - as well as agenda-driven.

It is why I don’t watch or listen to “news” broadcasts any more.

Originally Posted by cjrjck (Post 2281712)

Seriously, did you even read the article?

1. Why do people keep spending money if the economy is so terrible? We are spending money like crazy. That has to be a good thing, right? But wait:
2. Total credit card debt going over a round number like $1 trillion is scary. Uh oh. But let's not forget inflation is up 20 percent since 2020 so spending isn't as bad as it seems. Author just skims over the "inflation is up 20 percent" in 3 years like that is not a big deal in and of itself.
3. Young people in the first-time homebuyer stage of life have it worst of all, but don't worry,
4. Baby boomers will start dying off in 2030 freeing up home inventory. What? Like all of sudden despite inflation and record household debt Gen Zers will magically be able to afford new homes after the boomers leave the scene? Right.The article in Quoting The Atlantic says it is going to be a long time until houses are affordable again but the author is optimistic things will eventually get better. How quaint. I'll go a step further and say things will eventually get better, then worse, then better..... Hey it will rain, and then stop, then rain again.
5. Are economic sentiment gauges broken forever?Author tries to make a point that the economy is going strong despite how people feel about it. It's our fault for feeling like we do. I just look up at the previous points raised that household debt (and public debt) is higher than it has ever been, that inflation is up 20 percent over the last three years, and that young people (and many older people) can't afford to buy a house and likely won't for a long time and I have to wonder how you saw anything positive in this article? Still, I can't fault a person who sees a silver lining in a very dark cloud. Maybe we all need that perspective.

Originally Posted by Pennyt (Post 2282127)

1. Just saw today that inflation is down to 3.2% which is a significant drop from the past 2 years.
2. Mortgage rates are slowly dropping - back when I bought my first house, interest rates were over 13%. I would have thought 7% was a bargain!
3. Gasoline prices are down -we've always been much cheaper than the rest of the world.
So, the media keeps repeating how awful we all have it. But I see that health insurance is now available to more people than ever before, drug prices are being negotiated so our prescription costs may drop, infrastructure is beginning to be improved which will create more jobs....to me that sounds like more good news than bad. Economies take time to react to policies. Things seem to be looking up!