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NBC News: Are you better off than you were four years ago?

I’m better off than I was four years ago because I take care responsibility for my life. I don’t wait for the government to do anything for me. I make my own opportunities.
 
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...Continued​


Food​

With the typical household spending about 11% of their disposable income on food, consumers have said that rising grocery prices have taken a particularly painful toll on their budgets. Food prices have risen around 25% over the past four years while Biden was in office. And while prices aren’t increasing as much as they were in 2022, they continue to rise.

Grocery store prices increased 1.1% in April compared to a year ago and restaurant food was up 4.1%, according to the Bureau of Labor statistics. The rise in food prices has disproportionately impacted lower-income households, which spend around a third of their discretionary income on food, according to a 2022 Agriculture Department survey.

While price increases have slowed and the cost of some items have come down from their peak, prices for many key items are still well above their pre-pandemic levels. The price for a pound of ground beef has gone from $3.87 before the pandemic to $5.15 in May, a pound of bacon has gone from $5.50 to $6.81, a dozen eggs has risen from $1.50 to $2.70, bread has increased from $1.38 to $1.97, and a gallon of milk is up from $3.20 to $3.87, according to data from the Federal Reserve.

But there are some indications prices could start to come down more broadly. Major retailers and restaurant chains have announced recent price cuts, including Walmart, Aldi, Target, McDonald’s, and Applebee’s.
The Biden administration has argued that those higher prices are being offset by rising wages, especially for hourly workers. A White House analysis this month said that for the average non-managerial worker, it now takes the same hours of work to buy a typical basket of groceries as it did in 2019.

Gas​

Gas prices are an ever-present metric of the economy for most consumers each time they drive past a gas station or fill up their tanks. Consumers were hit with a surge in gas prices in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine roiled energy markets, sending the average price for a gallon of gas up to $4.62. Prices have been coming down over the past two years to an average of $3.42 as of June 17 — 12 cents lower than a year ago and the lowest level since 2021.
But average prices are still above their pre-pandemic levels, when a gallon of gas was around $2.45 in February of 2020.

A key factor keeping prices higher than their pre-pandemic levels is a pullback in production from OPEC, an organization of leading oil-producing nations, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.

Helping offset OPEC’s tightening of production is a record amount of oil being pumped in the U.S. Despite a push by the Biden administration to transition away from the use of fossil fuels, U.S. oil production has been at its highest level on record over the past year, surpassing the previous record set in 2019.
Prices typically peak in the spring when refineries are undergoing maintenance and should continue to go down throughout the summer and fall unless a hurricane disrupts refinery production.

“If we can make it through without any major events this summer, then prices would continue to potentially see a little bit of downward momentum. Of course, that’s also subject to OPEC policy not changing,” said De Haan. “Typically, gas prices fall in the fall, just as they spring in the spring. There’s going to be a lot of conspiracy theorists saying ‘oh, this is happening because of the election’ on both sides of the aisle. But they failed to remember that economics is what drives prices and the balances of supply and demand.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Maybe?

On one hand, I had a sh** ton of money because everything was closed, so it was just work, pay bills and save money.

Now, I'm working even more, and somehow have less money and more bills, and it's not like I'm living the extravagant life over here.

And I'm not even married or have to deal with kids.............
 
Same.

Presidents get way too much credit and/or blame for things that they have little to no influence over.
Which is why, again, I propose we all make a list of things that aren’t a president’s fault. Things where both sides can agree so we could maybe argue policy instead of hypocrisy. Gas prices, for starters. The constant nonsense in the Middle East for another.
 
Which is why, again, I propose we all make a list of things that aren’t a president’s fault. Things where both sides can agree so we could maybe argue policy instead of hypocrisy. Gas prices, for starters. The constant nonsense in the Middle East for another.
Both sides should agree on letting Iowa win a national championship.

To suggest otherwise would be un-American.
 
Wait. You earned almost 12% in 2022?

Least shocking news is who is and who isn’t doing better. Pretty much straight down party lines.
Good catch. Those numbers are upside down.

Should be -
  • In 2023, the average rate of inflation was 4.1%. My investments earned 14.03%
  • In 2022, the average rate of inflation was 8.0%. My investments lost 13.33%
  • In 2021, the average rate of inflation was 4.7%. My investments earned 11.84%
  • In 2020, the average rate of inflation was 1.2% My investments made 6.75%
Same average.
 
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or you've gotten 2 promotions and pay raises over the past 4 or so years

aren't you the same guy who purposely has a job with low pay, but great benefits? shouldn't be surprised your margin is a lot slimmer than some people
Yep I get that national average increase every year as well which isn’t even close to what inflation is.
Yep the same job I had before we got a new president and somehow we’re falling behind financially. The wife even got a different job during that time that pays a little bit more.
So like I said, people on here are full of shit, which I know they are. Or they got much larger raises than the average, got lucky with a new job or are nearing or at retirement with less bills. Which doesn’t mean the economy has gotten better for them.
 
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4 years ago my kids had just had the end of their school year cancelled, which was not great. BUT all the extracurricular activities were cancelled and our weekends in the summer were free, it was fantastic! My retirement accounts were briefly in the tank but recovered fully by the end of 2020 until they tanked again in 2021, and have now again recovered to 2020 levels. So I lost some maturity time but these things happen.

Prices of everything are way up over 4 years ago, and my income has not outpaced that rate of increased expense.

So Better off? No. But we're ok.
 
Working for a bank I can confirm the popular vote on here is not the norm for the general population. I’d say about 3/4 of our customers have less money in the bank than they did before Covid.
 
Yes although that's mostly from the progression of my career. Same for the Trump years. My investments are (mostly) doing well, my property insurance just dropped by 45%, I make substantially more now, no car payments, low mortgage interest.
 
I just double checked and from 6/25/2020 to 6/25/2024 it’s up 82%. So not quite doubled. But pretty darn close. And it’s not something we started recently. We started it in September 2001. So it’s a pretty significant gain.

I just checked and I'm up 52.13% over the last 4 years. 82% is outstanding. I started in 1999 although I didn't get serious about it until around 2010. Granted, I think our investments all plummeted during early 2020 (thanks a lot, Biden) which is why we see the big gains over four years. It's only 13% for me over the last 3 years.
 
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I think it's pretty good for the upper middle class on up. Everyone else is treading water with inflation and high interest rates/housing costs.
Not really. People on the low end of the wage scale have made very good gains in the past few years.

Lots of people on here yearning for the days when inflation was 2% and their pay increases were, maybe, 3% vs now when inflation is 3% and pay increases have been about 5%.

It's really more about interest rates being back near historical averages after being artificially low for a long time. Same with inflation being so low for so long, the pandemic and subsequent supply chain issues disrupted that and now things cost more so people have to actually shop around for deals, use coupons, or maybe put off purchases which is not out of the ordinary either.

It's not as easy in the middle and upper middle class as it was previously so we have a lot of whining even though it's still pretty good.
 
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4 years ago my kids had just had the end of their school year cancelled, which was not great. BUT all the extracurricular activities were cancelled and our weekends in the summer were free, it was fantastic! My retirement accounts were briefly in the tank but recovered fully by the end of 2020 until they tanked again in 2021, and have now again recovered to 2020 levels. So I lost some maturity time but these things happen.

Prices of everything are way up over 4 years ago, and my income has not outpaced that rate of increased expense.

So Better off? No. But we're ok.
The market is up 30% since the end of 2020.
 
I wonder if things are harder for the younger generations?

Let's face it, most of us on here are slightly older and more advanced in our careers. Own homes, have savings (hopefully).

Many also live in Iowa where the cost of living isn't very high.

I'm sure a fresh college grad with debt living in a bigger city sucks right now.
Especially if he/she/it was a 14th century Moldavian poetry major.
 
Not really. People on the low end of the wage scale have made very good gains in the past few years.

Lots of people on here yearning for the days when inflation was 2% and their pay increases were, maybe, 3% vs now when inflation is 3% and pay increases have been about 5%.
They're still feeling the effects of the 9% inflation a couple years back and hosing cost increases. They're making headway now, but lost ground for a couple years.


Rents jumped 30.4% nationwide between 2019 and 2023, while wages during that same period rose 20.2%, according to a recent analysis from online real estate brokers Zillow and StreetEasy. The gap between wage growth and rent increases was widest in large cities, including Atlanta; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Miami, Phoenix and Tampa.
 
They're still feeling the effects of the 9% inflation a couple years back and hosing cost increases. They're making headway now, but lost ground for a couple years.


Rents jumped 30.4% nationwide between 2019 and 2023, while wages during that same period rose 20.2%, according to a recent analysis from online real estate brokers Zillow and StreetEasy. The gap between wage growth and rent increases was widest in large cities, including Atlanta; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Miami, Phoenix and Tampa.
He doesn't understand that the gains they are making now is a result of how far behind they were.
 
They're still feeling the effects of the 9% inflation a couple years back and hosing cost increases. They're making headway now, but lost ground for a couple years.


Rents jumped 30.4% nationwide between 2019 and 2023, while wages during that same period rose 20.2%, according to a recent analysis from online real estate brokers Zillow and StreetEasy. The gap between wage growth and rent increases was widest in large cities, including Atlanta; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Miami, Phoenix and Tampa.
Everyone was affected by the spike in inflation but the lower wage earners had bigger gains during that time and they have been continuing. That's not to say they aren't more affected than others but that's due to having far less savings as a safety net.

The point continues to be that the economy has been good to very good despite what some are trying to paint it being.
 
He doesn't understand that the gains they are making now is a result of how far behind they were.
LOL - you talking about what others don't understand. Your thread from yesterday didn't go quite like you wanted - it was wise of you to bail.

Fact is lower wage earners have had their incomes increase significantly in the past few years and is outpacing inflation. That wasn't the case before that.
 
I’m better off than I was four years ago because I take care responsibility for my life. I don’t wait for the government to do anything for me. I make my own opportunities.
YOU KNOW IT, HITMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!! THERE ARE LOADS OF OPPORTUNITIES IN SOUTHERN CLAYTON COUNTY WHEN IT COMES TO ALPHA DAWGS WHO CRUSH ICE COLD CANS OF SPRITE AND HATE DA RADICAL MARXIST LEFTISTS!!!!!!!! MAYBE THESE LOSAHS SHOULD LEAVE DA INTERSTATE BATHHOUSES AND STOP EATING SEMEN AND SOY AND TRY GETTING A REAL JOB SO THEY CAN HAVE FAT FOOKIN BANK ACCOUNTS LIKE ME AND MY BRUH DA HITMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! INSTEAD WE'VE GOT TOO MANY LOONY LIBS WHO THINK BERNIE AND DA SQUAD AND SLOW JOE ARE HEROES AND THEY ARE NOT HEROES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEY ARE BETA CUCK MARXISTS WHO ARE GOING TO BE DESTROYED BY US MAGA SOLDIERS!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
LOL - you talking about what others don't understand. Your thread from yesterday didn't go quite like you wanted - it was wise of you to bail.

Fact is lower wage earners have had their incomes increase significantly in the past few years and is outpacing inflation. That wasn't the case before that.
You mean the one you cried to the mods and got nuked? Lol.

Post your link from that thread showing us how great they have been doing since 2020 again would ya.
 
WTF are you talking about? I have never contacted the mods you lying ****.


That's a lie.

Here's the thread - there are 3 links in it.

https://iowa.forums.rivals.com/threads/this-will-not-be-beat.445813/#post-12228705

You disappeared like you often do when your ass has been handed to you.




This one:


After the longest period in history without an increase, the federal minimum wage today is worth 29% less than 15 years ago–and 39% less than in 1968







I disappear in Tuesday nights to play golf dipshit.
 
Which is why, again, I propose we all make a list of things that aren’t a president’s fault. Things where both sides can agree so we could maybe argue policy instead of hypocrisy. Gas prices, for starters. The constant nonsense in the Middle East for another.
100% agree. Unfortunately Congress would need to act like adults for a change so it can trickle down to us through media......
 
This one:


After the longest period in history without an increase, the federal minimum wage today is worth 29% less than 15 years ago–and 39% less than in 1968







I disappear in Tuesday nights to play golf dipshit.
You lying piece of shit. Never once have I ever contacted a mod.

Where TF did that come from? And what relevance does it have to what people are actually being paid? It's a separate subject that highlights a different issue - that the Federal Minimum Wage has not increased since 2009. Of course it buys less.

Those responses were started just after 1 pm on a thread you started at 12:43 pm. You ran away like the coward that you are.
 
You lying piece of shit. Never once have I ever contacted a mod.

Where TF did that come from? And what relevance does it have to what people are actually being paid? It's a separate subject that highlights a different issue - that the Federal Minimum Wage has not increased since 2009. Of course it buys less.

Those responses were started just after 1 pm on a thread you started at 12:43 pm. You ran away like the coward that you are.
It's a direct quote from your link moran.
 
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Which link and which post number did I write those words?

You're a lying piece of shit.

Was the link you provided in post 11 of the thread yesterday. That quote comes directly from that.




Which is why I was laughing at you yesterday for providing something that contradicts what you were saying.


Dumbass.
 

Was the link you provided in post 11 of the thread yesterday. That quote comes directly from that.




Which is why I was laughing at you yesterday for providing something that contradicts what you were saying.


Dumbass.
Of course - so your claim that it was a direct quote of me is another lie.

You're too stupid to recognize the message - wage growth was 7% even where there was no minimum wage increase AT THE STATE LEVEL. Everyone knows that the federal minimum wage hasn't increased and that is a separate issue and irrelevant to this discussion. This is about low wage worker's wages rising faster than inflation which that link, and the others I provided, clearly demonstrate.

So which mod did I go to and which thread did I get nuked? If you are found to be lying about that do you agree never to post on here again?

Of course, even if you agree to that you wouldn't honor it because you're a worthless, lying piece of shit.
 
People with assets have been killing it over the last 4 years primarily due to the stock market and real estate prices. Thousands if not millions of business owners took advantage of the PPP programs to line their pockets as well.

People without assets struggled for a couple of years because of inflation, but unemployment has been basically nonexistent for the past 3 years and over the past 2 years wage growth has exceeded the rate of inflation, particularly in the lowest wage groups.


All in all Americans are probably better off, whether they believe it or not.
 
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You’re still stuck inside. You probably haven’t been outside in ten years.
THAT'S A GOOD ONE HITMAN!!!!!!!!!! DA HUEY TOTALLY FEELS SHAME FROM THAT ZINGAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MAYBE HE SHOULD QUIT SPENDING TIME IN DA INTERSTATE BATHHOUSES LIKE ALL DA OTHER SEMEN AND SOY EATING PIRATES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MAGA ALPHA DAWGS LIKE YOU AND ME ARE OUT IN DA REAL WORLD, MAKING DA REAL MONEY, CRUSHING ICE COLD CANS OF SPRITE, AND OWNING MARXIST RADICALS LIKE DA BERNIE AND DA SQUAD AND DA SLOW JOE AND DA CHE GUEVARA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HEY HUEY — I DARE YOU TO COME TO SOUTHERN CLAYTON COUNTY AND GET YOUR FACE REARRANGED BY DA HAWKEYE FOOKIN HITMAN!!!!!!!!!!! YOU WOULD NEVER DO IT THOUGH BECAUSE YOU ARE SCARED OF DA HITMAN BECAUSE YOU ARE A BETA CUCK LOW T MARXIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Try comparing the rate of inflation to the interest rate you are earning. If the your rate you are earning isn't higher than the rate of inflation, you are losing money every day. And so is all of American under this clown. Now if you are making more that 25% over the last 4 years, prove it or stop lying.
Why do Republicans vote against every bill that helps alleviate rising costs for Americans? Do you ever pay attention to how your leaders vote??
 
I dont see anything in his post about Biden. The question was "are you better off now than you were 4 years ago?". Some people are honest. Others are not. In any case, every answer is anecdotal anyway.
Well, to be honest, anyone with a brain knows exactly what is meant when this question is asked. MAGAs try this gotcha all the time.
 
I think it's pretty good for the upper middle class on up. Everyone else is treading water with inflation and high interest rates/housing costs.
That and corporations raising costs in guise of inflation. It’s been admitted in front of Congress but Republicans don’t get pissed off about that. It’s gotta be Joe’s fault.
 
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