How’s the American Economy Doing? Answer–It Depends
Most people think the economy is the most important issue facing them. So, let’s discuss the state of the U.S. economy.
If you get asked, “How’s the American economy doing?” …. what’s your answer?
Do you respond positively or negatively?
Admittedly, assessing the national economy is tricky. First, there’s the lag time on markets and prices when feeling the full impacts of supply and demand. There’s the delayed consequences of federal monetary policy and budget cycles. There’s the numerous global influences on economics — from oil prices, to wars, to weather, to breakdowns in supply chains. Turning around an economy –one way or the other– can take years.
Right now, are there positive indicators that inspire public confidence in the economy? Absolutely. Are we better off now than four years ago? Undoubtedly. Is unemployment at a 50-year low? Yes. Is the stock market at a record high? Factually, that’s correct. Wages have increased, especially in unskilled jobs. Moreover, the U.S. economy is far bettor off than many countries.
What about the negatives? Well, inflation has been a serious problem and even though it was a global reality that hit every nation on earth, for some bizarre reason many Americans think of rising prices as a partisan political issue (Hint: Biden had nothing to do with the spike in worldwide inflation in 150+ countries, with many rates far higher than in the U.S.). The national deficit is also at an alarming level, but before you blame Biden and the Democrats, remember it’s about the same percentage of GDP in 2024 as it was under capitalist crusader St. Ronald Reagan back in the 1980s. Another fact: The only budget surplus in the last 50 years was during the Bill Clinton presidency. So, conservative economic myths are pretty much trashed by historical facts.
But the biggest problem is free-market capitalism itself and the glaring excesses of a system of “haves” vs. “have nots,” which have produced appalling inequities of wealth all across America. Yeah, the super rich have never been better off, but that wealth is concentrated in fewer hands now than ever before. The wealthiest top 10 percent own more than the bottom 90 percent of the population combined. In fact, the bottom 50 percent in American owns only 2.5 percent of all wealth. That’s evidence of an unfair and broken system and tonic for anger, or worse. No, free markets do not work for everyone. They work for those already on top. Again, facts prove this.
The future appears to be even more of a serious concern. How many young people think they’re bettor off than their parents and grandparents? Half a century ago, 80 percent of Americans said they were bettor off. Now, those percentages have flip-flopped and it’s 20 percent. It’s easy to see why we’ve lost confidence. How can any average working-class person afford to buy a home? What guarantee do they have that working hard and playing by the rules will net economic security and some measure of prosperity? There are none. Each and every day, I see plenty of people out there working hard and playing by the rules, but they struggle. Meanwhile, guess who keeps hoarding most of the wealth in America?
So then, how do I answer my initial question about the state of the American economy? In summation, I’m not sure there’s a clear answer. Hence, when we see poll results and surveys about consumer confidence and perception of the economy, attitudes are inherently jaded by much larger questions as to what specific economics we’re talking about and in what context. The only clear factual takeaway from this is that THE SYSTEM is NOT working for ALL of us.
Be wary of polls and surveys about the state of the American economy. Any person paying attention should have difficulty coming up with a clear answer.
