Is the economy in good shape or bad shape? The answer is yes. Depending on where and how you look at things, we’re doing better than ever, but Americans feel otherwise. What the heck is going on?
Here’s Five Fast Facts About Economic Disconnect:
- 📈 Looking Good - On paper, the economy is better than ever. There were 216,000 jobs added in December, and the unemployment rate has been under 4% for 23 straight months, which is the longest stretch in over 50 years.
- 📊 No Growth - However, wages aren’t growing at an equal rate. When adjusted for inflation, wages have grown by just 1.7% between 2019 and 2023 for the median worker. Remember: the Federal Minimum Wage has not increased since 2009.
- 📉Deflating - Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas shows that low-income households are getting hit with inflation the worst. That’s in part due to the high percentage of their wages going to gas and food, forcing a paycheck-to-paycheck life.
- 💰 Double Duty - A record number of Americans worked more than one job last year, the highest since 2019.
- 👨💼 Lay Off/Pay Off - Then there are the layoffs which have been hitting white collar jobs over the past year. Turns out it’s all about the benjamins and corporations are reaping the benefits. These big companies make big bucks when they lay off workers. For example, Amazon made $2.8M for every staff member they laid off whereas Microsoft made $9.8M from each lay off in 2023. Meta made $42.9 Billion for laying off 11,000 workers last year.
🔥Bottom line: The rich are getting richer while normal folks like you are stuck. The only real way to fix this is at the ballot box in elections beyond November. It’s state-level lawmakers (not a President) who are allowing this kind of robbery to occur. Your votes are the only way things can change.
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