It’s called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it
Consumers are so demoralized by inflation and high rates they've given up on saving for the American Dream and are spending money instead, economist says
Submitted 5 months ago by return2ozma@lemmy.world to aboringdystopia@lemmy.world
Comments
gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
Streetlights@lemmy.world 5 months ago
RIP George Carlin
DessertStorms@kbin.social 5 months ago
Anyone who still believes in, never mind promotes the lie that is (and always has been) the "American dream" should be categorically ignored, if not publicly chastised.
shortwavesurfer@monero.town 5 months ago
Exactly. The American dream is dead and anybody who believes otherwise is either an extreme optimist or delusional pick your choice.
DessertStorms@kbin.social 5 months ago
That, or they have a vested interest in continuing to promote it and keep it "alive", like the owners of this publication clearly do.
applepie@kbin.social 5 months ago
Or there is a more reasonable explanation that low income people by default have to spend all of their money survive and maybe then some more.
HubertManne@kbin.social 5 months ago
especially when things like food are the things going up. Just noticed this weekend that four things of tortillas was the same price as pair of frying pans.
Sanctus@lemmy.world 5 months ago
What dream? This place has been nothing but one crisis to the next since I fucken became cognizant.
return2ozma@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Paywall removed archive.is/IyuC2
BlackNo1@lemmy.world 5 months ago
American dream has always been nothing more than a scam.
Adalast@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Don’t spend. That is what they want. Spending is just transferring the money into the pockets of the greedy.
return2ozma@lemmy.world 5 months ago
A lot of younger people are maxing out credit cards and Buy Now Pay Later money lenders and then not paying it back.
LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Yeah but that only works for about a month. Then they are toast.
LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Nah. I, for one, actually have a running list of things I’m refraining from buying because I’m saving up for a ten thousand dollar thing that I urgently need.
shortwavesurfer@monero.town 5 months ago
I can understand why they are doing it. However, I would advise doing it correctly. Don’t put yourself in financial stress. Just to spend money. But if you spend money now, then you have things that will actually be worth something. And you can pay it off with inflated money later. So you get the best end of both deals. As an example, if I wanted to, I could borrow $5,000 right now because the payment on a $5,000 loan would be $100 and I can easily afford that because I have a budget and know where my money is going. So I could take that $5,000 loan and buy gold with it, thereby keeping an asset that holds its value and doesn’t inflate away and pay the loan back with increasingly worthless fiat currency.
applepie@kbin.social 5 months ago
Buying and selling gold has a large transaction and maintance costs... What is u smoking bro.
PresidentCamacho@lemm.ee 5 months ago
“AS AN EXAMPLE”
HubertManne@kbin.social 5 months ago
ironic given the idea behind increased interest rates is to encourage saving.
Mubelotix@jlai.lu 5 months ago
Not really. It’s to give an incentive to keep using the currency. Without this a lot of people would short the US dollar
HubertManne@kbin.social 5 months ago
way I always heard it is to fight inflation they increase interest which is supposed to encourage people to save the money rather than spend it thus lowering inflationary pressures in addition to interest capturing dollars that become unavailable for purchasing.
Shurimal@kbin.social 5 months ago
Use it or lose it.
What's the point of saving when real inflation rate* is higher than the interest banks apply to saving accounts? Or even average investment account interest rates? Saving now only makes sense in short term, for things you know you're going to need and can save up for in less than a year—home appliances, phones, laptops, small home improvements etc—and even then leasing or credit card may make more sense if prices continue to rise.
And that is assuming you have money left over after paying for necessities in the first place... It's not as if you can pay for eg renovation of your bathroom after a year of being able to set aside just 30 or 50€, even if you don't have an emergency expense taking you back to square 1.
*This essay is from 2021 but things haven't got better since:
https://evonomics.com/the-truth-about-inflation-why-milton-friedman-was-wrong-again/
Altofaltception@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Isn’t the American dream intended to feed the capitalists in charge? This would fit right in with the plan.