Hmmm.
Consumers in the United States are now spending money at prices comparable with their recent growth, according to a New York Times article. Median real profits are then higher than they were in 2019. The rate of inflation has dropped to about 3 %. So, where is the meat that is still far overpriced?
These numbers can be interpreted to favorably. Costs for necessities like food, gas, and cover continue to be high, making the business a significant issue for some quarters of the population, including young people who are paying off student loans once more as their rent continues to rise. 93 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 29 in the Times/Siena poll of six swing states said the economy was “only fair” or “poor” ( fully 59 percent said “por” ). Americans under the age of 25 actually had more after-tax income than they did in 2021 thanks to the federal benefits of Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act, but their spending just matched their incomes in that year. However, in a very active job industry in 2022, their wages set record highs.
Additional information from Harold Meyerson
However, the very real financial challenges that younger people face do not fully account for the discrepancy between their favorite perceptions of the economy and the real economy in which they work and spend their money. What then does?
What about the media and perspectives that young people have on the planet? 43 percent of TikTok users, according to Pew, claim that’s where they get their news on a regular basis, while at least as many Americans use Facebook or X ( previously Twitter ) to get it. Thoroughly 32 % of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 receive their information on TikTok.
That indicates that we are a long way from the country that previously relied on Cronkite, Huntley, or Brinkley for its information. Despite how flawed those sites to the earth may have been, they were primarily grounded in reality. While flawed as they were ( and as we still are ), they underwent editing by seasoned professional editors.
However, as the Times noted last year, a large portion of TikTok conversation is made up of” Silent Depression” jokes that express gloom for the business. Actually, there is n’t much economic news.
That in no way implies that Biden and the Democrats may respond to this with choirs of” Happy Days Are These Again.” However, it does imply that their promotion of his incredibly real economic accomplishments —or economists ‘ assessment of the economy—reaches a smaller audience as the old Cronkite media’s influence has steadily declined. It implies that true economic news might hardly ever reach TikTok. One can only hope that the Democrats ‘ comparison of Biden with Trump on economics, social policy, abortion, climate change, and politics will make it onto TikTok.
McLuhan ought to be ruining this moment rather than just living it. The message is, far too much, the method.