Is the US economy actually improving ?

[orangesunset]

The government statistics keep on saying things are getting better, but I don't really see it. Prices of things keep on going up while the wages seems to remain the same. The only people who seem to be making more money are government employees and politicians.

What is your guy's take ?

 

[crimsonghost747]

Yes, it's not about the government statistics.. just take a look at the financial statements of public companies. Those, unlike government statistics, are pretty hard to fake... especially on such a large scale.

And price of things HAS to keep going up... it's called inflation and it's necessary for an economy to work.

 

[globulon]

The US economy in general has been recovering for a long while now. It may not be as fast as most people hoped but it has been steady. Inflation is a completely normal thing which happens in almost all healthy economies. How the average person is doing may be another story. There are a lot more jobs being created regularly, however there's disputes on whether they are quality jobs or not.

 

[JulianWilliams]

Yes, the economy is growing, but with all these labor saving things, like robots and software, popping up everywhere the companies are making more profits while the workers' pay has not increased by very much in the past few decades.

 

[missbishi]

The thing is, goverments all over the world manipulate their statistics to create a sense of false security amongst the population. For example, a country may report that the average wage has risen by, say, 2% in the past 5 years. What they won't tell you, however, is that the cost of living, or inflation, has increased by 5% over the same time scale.

 

[Gabriel]

I think things are improving, gas prices have gone down and food prices depending where you shop are stable. You can shop in discount places and coupons are more accepted and no longer a stigma. As for wages, that is a company issue, they decide how much to pay and how much profit they want to make. Each state has it's own laws, so it's hard to be broad about things, but a minimum wage is a pro, but a con, when people say it will stop people hiring and increase costs. I don't understand why people don't want their fellow human citizens to make a decent wage so they can eat and clothe themselves?

You look at a company that can afford to pay more than the minimum wage, but chooses not to, to make more profit. That's not something the government can do anything about, but has to come form the morals of companies.

 

[littlexchelsea]

I do not really think that the economy in the United States is getting better. Right now, I am watching the pre-State of the Union news, and it says that poverty is at the highest ever since the US census began. It also said that only 45% of the people are satisfied with the current economy.

 

[stryker]

What economy? Or whose? Everybody seems to have a different take on it. I, personally, do not see any particular improvement. People are still out of work. The cost of nearly everything is still way high. Except for gas, of course; but I don't expect that to stay low for long. Democrats and republicans alike are frothing at the bit to stick a new tax on it while it's low. Then, somewhere an Arab will fart or something and the price will go back up again, as it always does. Only then, we'll still have the new tax we've been saddled with tacked on if government has its way.

 

[xTinx]

I read this article from fortune.com written by a guy named Chris Matthews and it was claimed there that the US economy is indeed improving. According to him, the "economy might finally be seeing the above-trend growth" that everyone's looking forward to. Mid-2014, the US market saw a 3.5 percent growth rate while unemployment also continued to drop. It marks significant improvement, obviously. You can't feel it just yet because it's still fresh but eventually you will.

 

[orangesunset]

The thing is, goverments all over the world manipulate their statistics to create a sense of false security amongst the population. For example, a country may report that the average wage has risen by, say, 2% in the past 5 years. What they won't tell you, however, is that the cost of living, or inflation, has increased by 5% over the same time scale.

That is the major problem, has unemployment actually gone down or did the government just figure out a new way to calcualte the statistics.

As one person pointed out, the amount of jobs is increasing but are they high quality job ? For the most part it doesn't seem to he that way.

The standard of living seems to be decreasing decreasing despite what the government says in my opinion.

 

[xTinx]

Look, when an economy is improving, that doesn't mean each and every person's well-being will consequently improve. Some people will reap the benefits, while some people will not. Besides, the economy is always the bigger picture and individual persons are the minute details. The ones who can feel the benefits most are tycoons and businesses since basically they're the ones running the American economy. What is capitalism for you, anyway? It's always been the unequal move of blessings. The invisible hand works for those who have more to bring to the table - not for ordinary proletariat.

 

[003]

Economical improvement couldn't be easily felt. When it had been in a news the the economy improved from that to this, only the economists are able to really see it. I doubt that even they feel it. It will come later on when the improvement has already gone far. And I think as long as the economy doesn't feel heavy to you or doesn't get heavier, then the economy is really improving as the challenge really is to keep your economy from stumbling down.

 

[freeofcharge]

You don't need to look at the US government statements on whether or not the economy is improving. Just look around you. Talk to local business people about how their business declined and improved from 2008 until now. It's very clear that the economy is improving and there's a very good chance that you or those in your local community have felt the impact of those improvements

 

[jeremy2]

What economy? Or whose? Everybody seems to have a different take on it. I, personally, do not see any particular improvement. People are still out of work. The cost of nearly everything is still way high. Except for gas, of course; but I don't expect that to stay low for long. Democrats and republicans alike are frothing at the bit to stick a new tax on it while it's low. Then, somewhere an Arab will fart or something and the price will go back up again, as it always does. Only then, we'll still have the new tax we've been saddled with tacked on if government has its way.

I believe that if the recent Government stats are anything to go by,the economy is improving but not by double digits as you'll expect. The price of gas is at an all time low and this is putting a slight pressure on the dollar.I only wonder if the recent plunge that the oil prices have taken is artificial. Could Russia be the target?

 

[gmckee1985]

I think the economy is definitely improving. This should definitely be the best year for the economy since 2007. That being said the economy still isnt where it needs to be. Wages arent growing and the average person isnt feeling the benefits of the economic growth.