For many, the economic recovery being touted by the mainstream media has not yet affected them. About 25% of Americans say that a decade after the housing bust that caused the Great Recession, they are doing worse. Almost half of Americans are not doing any better at all too.
If you believe the mainstream media, the economy is robust and the unemployment rate is at a 49-year-low. But not all Americans have recovered from the Great Recession. According to a new survey from Bankrate of about 3,000 Americans, 23% of people who were adults when the recession started in December 2007 say they are now financially worse off than they were before the recession hit. That percentage amounts to just under 50 million Americans. Another 25% say they are doing the “same.” In all, just over half believe their “overall finances” are better than before.
“Americans were and continue to be in a degree of denial of the financial crisis and Great Recession,” said Mark Hamrick, Bankrate’s senior economic analyst according to a report by Yahoo Finance. “One of the constant themes that presents itself in the data is that Americans are still digging out in many ways from that experience.”
“While some have managed to prosper in the decade since, there are still tens of millions who are struggling to even get back to where they were before the economy took a turn for the worse,” added Hamrick. Could that mean that the economy is not all that robust? We certainly think so. But speaking the truth is a revolutionary act in times of deceit.
When asked about their salaries, less than half of the respondents said their wages were better than before, while more than a third say that it is worse. But if you’re a millennial (29-38) you’re in luck: Only 16% of this demographic who were adults during the Great Recession say their pay is worse now. That’s compared to 26% of baby boomers (aged 55-73). “If you take this data at face value — where less than half of the adult population say that their pay is better — and most indicate it is not better, that tells you enough and raises enough of a question about the true improvement that Americans have experienced,” Hamrick said.
But some have been questioning this economy for a while now. It is heavily manipulated by the Federal Reserve and the government is doing nothing to prevent the devaluation of the dollar or inflation. For this reason, we have taken to suggesting financial preparation as incredibly important to consider at this time. Storing food and water will always be good ideas, however, we should take the time to get our finances straightened out as well. There are several ways to go about it, but an easy to follow plan is Dave Ramsey’s “baby steps.” He suggests paying down your debts and has often said he “hates debt more than anyone.”
They’re worse off in part because of bad financial decisions they’ve made; maxing out credit cards, taking out loans on cars they can’t afford, etc. I’m one of those who is better off now than in 2008. More supplies now than I had back then. A BOL to bugout to which I didn’t have back then. And still debt free like I’ve always been and still stacking. Plus my income is higher now than it was back then.Those who don’t prep are inept.
I call BULLSHIT as I, and many have done here in the past.
You cite “YAHOO” finance, one the the furthest LEFT WING sites, period. Stop it. We are NOT worse off since the recession, and if you are, its YOUR OWN FUCKING FAULT.
Fucking liberals infiltrated MAC.
TBR;
Too many people are trying to live a magazine lifestyle on a salary that is barely above the poverty line..
DON’T worry about other people..
STOP trying to keep up with the Jones’s..
There will always be those who have more money than you, are more popular than you, are better looking than you, and believe it or not,even tougher than you..
The sooner a person realizes this the better off they’ll be..Live within your means and STOP competing with other people..
Anonymous, thanks for the advice but I already follow that. BTW, my income level is way above the poverty line, I don’t give a shit about the Jones’s or anyone else, I don’t give a shit about popularity, and I’m also tough enough to survive anything life throws at me. I’ve ALWAYS lived within my means and NEVER compete with other people. Why don’t you try to get to know someone first before you go passing judgment on them? [SARCASM]
DR, Spot on. I’ve never in my life had a credit card. If you cant afford it today, how can you afford it tomorrow? I’m also much better off than in 2008. More work than I can get too. Most people with financial troubles arrive there due to bad decisions, and trying to live like rock stars on a peasants wage.Yet most of those people are still much better off than in countries where there is zero opportunity. Most people in the USA are ungrateful for what they do have, and don’t realize how well off they are compared to most people in the rest of the world.
Every American should view this video to get a legitimate view of what TRUMP TARIFFS are all about and why.
The propaganda from the Uber Rich Investment and Political Class is overwhelming. Get another perspective:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ696VO0vGs
AMERICANS FIRST !!! 🙂
the standard of living went way up since the depression. forgot to mention that. alot of it is because people dont know how to use $ the right way. budgeting is something very few people do. preparing for the uncertain future doesnt cost alot. there is no excuse.
I call BULLSHIT as I, and many have done here in the past.
You cite “YAHOO” finance, one the the furthest LEFT WING sites, period. Stop it. We are NOT worse off since the recession, and if you are, its YOUR OWN FUCKING FAULT.
Fucking liberals infiltrated MAC.
How many times will Mac regurgitate the same old shit story?
You’re always going to have half the population below average in intelligence and ambition.
Face it, you deserve what you have EARNED. 109 million “Americans” depend on the legal-citizen-working taxpayer for their fat&carbs, free medical/education/housing and $75k/yr/person direct and indirect entitlement moocher “benefits.”
He never fails to amaze, Mac’s penis envy when it comes to the dollars in another man’s pocket, especially one that earns the money by working!
If you’re not economically well off then perhaps the one to blame is your own rotten self!
What the fuck do you DEMAND… free everything, especially for those that haven’t worked a single day in their entire shitty life.
Mac hast thou gonst Bernie Sanders socialist?
We’re all going to be worse off, because someone is either an imbecile or just out to kill us.
When a government allows the relocation of black Africans from the Congo, you just have to question who the hell is in charge. There is Ebola in the Congo, and HIV/AIDS.
.
Eight years of Obama were a disaster for Americans over age 50. Obama care had a rate system that made companies pay a lot more if they had too many over fifty employees. Most of the people in that age group found their companies finding excuses to layoff over fifty workers, or had their hours reduced to 30 a week so they didn’t have to pay for healthcare. Once they got rid of you you were unemployable. Those people had been convinced to give up pensions for 401 K’s. I know many that could only find work as a temp, they burned through savings, used their retirement 401k to eat and pay rent. Now they are hitting retirement and will need to live off $1200 a month. Which they do by living homeless in their cars. I agree with the article, except I see Obama Care as a major destroyer of people’s lives.
It’s is clear Obama instilled a climate of hostility toward anyone middle class American. The socialist plan required the destruction of the Middle Class and Obama gets an A plus for taking down America.
This is now where US demographics kill us. Huge numbers of Americans are retiring in record numbers, and they are broke after Obama, imagine if Hillary had won? Millions of Illegals with forth grade educations are not going to be able to drive an economy that can care for these now over 65 people.
If Venezuela is any example, it took the communists there 25 years to bleed that nation to deaths door. A Twenty Five year window is a really hard thing to prep for. I prep for disasters that last months, maybe a year. I can’t imagine life in Venezuela, but that is where the Democrats and autocrats want to go.
I find it interesting that under Trump the we are finally a net energy exporter. Watch carefully who (C_A & Isr__l) is trying to trigger a war with Iran and why. Obama gave billions in cash to Iran to buy what, another insurance policy against Trump? Has it come due? Also interesting is one of the Democrat top political issues is the global warming fable, they demand we stop being an energy producer/ exporter? Hmmm. The knee capping of America.
There are people who buy a house thinking prices will stay the same and they can make it. Then the cost of everything goes up and now they are choking. Deep in credit card debt now. How did they get a loan? Now they need help, Then they file bankrupt and go for assistance that comes from who? Yep, you got it. Bank has the house now and resells it. Bank gets its money back and the family moves on using government money.
Listen to these cowboys. They say we are not worse off now that they have their doomsday bunkers full of canned tuna. They have stockpiled pride while losing liberty.
I’m doing better now. Of course, I’m living within my means. I no longer use a credit card for anything at all. I use a debit card instead, so absolutely everything is “pay as you go.” As soon as the current car is paid for, I’ll be saving up and paying cash for cars from then on.
Dave Ramsey’s plan works, and you don’t have to buy his books if you don’t wish to, as YouTube videos explain everything.
You are rude, childish, and unrealistic, if you expect the living conditions of your ancestors, 50-65 yrs ago.
Rolls of hundred dollar bills are rumored among fourth world migrants.
Woody Guthrie- This Land Is Your Land
youtube.com/watch?v=wxiMrvDbq3s
I look up an old friend, to find an American property, listed in an Asian country — not in this country.
At one point, we reportedly had six houses to every one homeless.
Under what is called Communism, when people admit to their Communism, there is a contingent of intentionally underemployed people called the labor or industrial army, who is supposed to be forced to take any job, no matter how menial, as a result of their desperation. It’s a part of the intentional design of it.
They have hunting, fishing, trees, and mineral wealth — these needy people. They are told, don’t touch; it’s under protection. Expats buy it, for pennies on the dollar.
Many of these houses will never be listed in the depressed market. In my friend’s town, water is unaffordable. Noone has grass growing. A spring, once used by hikers and poor people, coming out of the mountainside, has been piped, capped, fenced off, and the water is sold to the Chinese, in large, sturdy pouches.
About 20% are retired with rent-covering SS (at least)
About 20% are dual-high-earner households
About 20% are welfare eligible due to sex and reproduction in a single-breadwinner household
Of the half who claim to be better off, many have two household-supporting income streams, meaning a whole other household could have formed if one of the parents raised the kids, rather than taking another household-supporting job out of the economy.
In that satisfied half, you also have many dual-earner retired couples with two bigger SS checks for above-firing parents who retained higher-paying jobs for 5 or more years through lots of protracted absenteeism that anyone without kids would have been fired for. They have the two SS streams and two streams of other retirement income, like two 401ks or a 401k and a pension from one of the many mom-dominated jobs, like public school teaching.
This same group of dual earners is the one that politicians aim their tax favoritism at, particularly during their childrearing years, when they cash non-refundable child tax credit after non-refundable child tax credit, spending that extra money on vacations or kitchen redos in many cases.
The single earners with no kids, with kids over 18 or without custody of kids are the ones facing the brutality of this economy. They have near-zero welfare access, while single moms and legal / illegal immigrants get reduced-cost housing, free EBT food, monthly cash assistance, electricity assistance and up to $6,431 in refundable child tax credit cash, even though they pay no income tax. All they have to do is work part time, keeping traceable income under the programs’ earned-income limits.
Those without children often must cover all bills with earned-only income from contract or temp gigs, meaning they pay twice-as-high SS tax—the employer’s part and their part. They have no benefits or predictable income. And they do not get UC between churn jobs.
In fact, the people getting UC between churn jobs to cover rent are almost always in households with other streams of income, like spousal income, child support, etc. Factories often use the UC system strategically, laying off people officially so that they qualify for UC, whereas the office job sector churns workers in the most cutthroat ways possible, particularly those who lack unearned income.
Hardworking quota meeters are often the first to get churned after the well-vacationed crony-parent manager meets her / his bonus numbers. The crony-parent managers and their crony-parent underlings enjoy enormous amounts of excused absenteeism.
The labor market does not reward hard work. It is super-corrupt at best and scam-laden at worst, and if you notice, a lot of Americans are not returning.
49% can be below the average. Ever see a bell-curve distribution chart?
The 25% mentioned in the title has little meaning. For those of us that believe in INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS, SELF DETERMINATION, and the freedom to choose our own careers, our own spending/saving regimen and other responsible/irresponsible life choices; where we are on the bell curve is just data.