We are having an epidemic of people who don't want to have responsibilities or be grown up. They'd rather pretend to be anything other than themselves. This constant looking to the past, wanting to feel childlike, is why our future is in peril.
Life is ALWAYS simpler and easier when you are a child -- in the pink of health -- and under the watch, care, and love of others. We should vigorously reject politicians who play to our ignorance and fears.
The covid pandemic saw the greatest transfer of wealth from the middle class to the elite. Thousands of small businesses closed, never to reopen. Millions lost their jobs. So, although the numbers and stats show a bright picture, the reality on the ground being experienced by millions is a totally different picture.
We are in a life-and-death struggle between the people and the elites/progressive communists. There is a very real possibility we will have no functioning government to use to make the repairs made in the 1980's.
It's becoming more and more like Brazil. If you're in that fortunate top 5% then life is great. For everyone else it varies somewhere between a struggle to downright impossible. This winner take all mentality is going to lead to social unrest.
@@patrolmanpete No question the benefits are not shared equally. However, it is also without question that the system of free markets, rule of law and individual decisions has benefitted more people to a greater extent than any other ever tried.
@@dabrack9350 I agree with you there. But there is a wide spectrum of ways to apply that approach. Look at Western Europe, the places with the highest quality of life ratings. Specifically the Nordic countries. Neat, clean orderly streets, a high degree of social cohesion, a strong social safety net... yes, they pay high taxes, but they get an awful lot in exchange for it. Meanwhile North America has adopted a "winner take all" mindset where we have one person with a million dollars, nine people with nothing, and analysts try to convince us everything is OK because on average everyone has a hundred grand.
@@patrolmanpete Of course you do understand Europe only works as it does because America carries the load in men, innovation and money that maintains the peace around the world. I also note that while the news is full of real conflicts, since 1945 we have experienced the longest and greatest period of peace the world has ever known.
For a majority of Americans, life is much harder than they remembered for their parents at the same age as themselves. The rich and the corporations have gotten much richer, the middle class has lost a lot more ground. Inflation of everyday needs while stagnation of real wages. Food, medical, eduction and housing costs have spiraled out of control. To the point the dream is dying for many young people.
And it seems like it took Trumpy several YEARS to realize that the internet would eventually fact check his lies faster than he can say them. Trump will be found guilty in 2024.
The missing piece here is the impact of social media and smartphones on our lives. The negative information is shown over and over again and then people tend to forget how much progress we have made.
No worries... Biden can win any debate against the, "Yellow Monkey's Bottom," and everyone knows it. Trump has no retention of facts or history! All he will do is use the speaking points Hannity writes for him & all the MAGA-GOP-NUT'S huh? This is why Trump has been trying to get dirt Biden's son for the past 6 years huh?
Microwave attention span. We have Andy Warhol and Ted Turner to blame. If CNN had NEVER created the 24hrs news cycle and congress put strict regulations on internet companies, i think we would have been all the better for it.
I heard in North Korea everyone is equal regardless of how hardworking or skilled are you, you don't pay tax either. Food and housing are provided equally by the government.
@Brad-ih5zh do you have to use one extreme to justify another extreme? Most people discussing this want a mixed market economy that leans capitalistic to take advantage of the benefits of capitalism. While having key regulations and tax policies that prevent the destabilization of late stage capitalism. If you allow it to get to skewed one way or the other to heavily you end up with a backlash. We are skewed to heavily into crony capitalism at the moment. You can fix this allowing for the middle class to be strong and healthy without going full communist.
I think the biggest issue is the War in Gaza. A lot of people like me who voted for Biden are deeply disappointed and disturbed that their President is sponsoring a genocide and keeps genuflecting to Israel. That shows Democrats' moral bankruptcy. The grand coalition that Democrats had built, including liberal Whites, African Americans, American Asians and American Muslims is now falling apart. People can now clearly see that both parties serve AIPAC and give only lip service to their other concerns. Economy is not everything. People expect their government to not only look out for their economic interests but also to represent their ideals. Biden certainly has not done that. He is appeasing far-right Zionists in the country and forgetting his base. That's why the base will not turn out to vote for him. Trump can be far worse, but if his second term is going to be similar to his first, I think most people can live with it. At least, I can.
Two words: Rupert Murdock. I don't hear anyone asking why Mr. Murdock wants so badly for us to hate our government. He's been unbelievably successful, and is among the most destructive people on the planet. But nobody talks or asks about that. That's the direction we should be aiming our scrutiny.
because rich people know if government fails, rich people succeed. if government works, rich people cannot blame the government and so they get taxed and poor people do better. poor people hate being poor so they don't want other people to get help because it makes them feel bad getting helped. it is a big contradiction
@@osiris7208 Part of the actual relevance of his age, is that he's old enough to remember the mid 20th century, when wealthy Americans actually paid taxes. Rupert and his American friends didn't like that, and have been enacting their revenge ever since.
The people who want us to hate our government are the ones who want to tear down statues of everyone from Abraham Lincoln to William Penn and say that this country is "stolen land," as if there's any plot of ground on this planet that is currently occupied by the rightful original owners.
America has 2 economies. One is the economy where gdp growth benefits those who can afford to invest and the other is the economy for the 60% who cannot afford a $500.00 emergency, who have no job security and for whom a serious illness could bankrupt them.
Well said. Like you said, some Americans (those who can invest) have benefited greatly whereas the vast majority haven't. For a country that's doing so well the majority of its citizens precariously walk a tightrope every month hoping that an unforeseen event doesn't throw them out of their house.
Exactly - In US, if you are in tech, life is smooth, controllable, else you are figuring out how to scrape the bottom of the barrel for scraps or moving to some far out city to survive the rising housing prices. Remote work and IT is a blessing though if one could re-train himself and he missed the key point that US can print $s its way out of issue after WWII but that is not going to last much longer - i would say a decade
That stat of 60% not being able to afford a $500 bill comes from an old survey done by a financial service firm which isn't really accurate, the median amount of savings a person has in their checking account is ~$8000.
The huge problem in the USA is the economic situation is good but the majority of the wealth goes to very few. 90% of Americans don’t benefit from the great economy Wealth inequality is the root of most of the problems in the USA Tax the rich. Tax the billionaires and corporations Give more benefits to the poor and middle class
tRump gave a tax cut to billionaires in 2017-18, and he consider middle class and poor people as losers who he only cares as cannon fodder for his campaigns and political support.
You forgot to say vote against Trump and all republicans who's main goal is always lower taxes for the rich. His only substantive policy is to lower the corporate tax rate AGAIN.
I walked into a grocery store today, January 11th, and bought a few items. This is anecdotal but my experience. 1lb of butter. Two weeks ago 4.99. Today 5.99 (17% increase). Coffee. Two weeks ago Pete's Coffee 8.99. Today 10.99 (a 17% increase). A Pinot Grigio. Two weeks ago 8.75 a bottle. Today 10.45 a bottle. (16% increase) I could go on and on but you get the point. This is what shoppers are experiencing over and over in various stores or when they go into restaurants or need to have services in their homes or just replacing air filters in the HVAC system. Everywhere you will see huge price increases ranging between 15 to 20%. Household debt is also rising at an alarming rate. People are tapped out. This is the economy experienced at the local level not at the macro level. It is this that our politicians must address and let me say that electing Trump isn't going to make a difference because he's as much in with the oligarchs and corporations as any other politician. He's one himself.
I'm not a Trump lover or hater. Agree with many things he has said. But your right, he is going to borrow and spend on the MIC and CIA and the never ending wars. #34 Trillion in debt, with little to show for it.......
So inflation is a consequence of economic growth. The fact our economy is healthy is what is driving inflation. Healthier than it has any business being. Here is an interesting fact. 1.3% of the 3.0% inflation rate is a direct consequence of trade tarrifs. The great irony is - is all the elite bashing people like to engage in without thinking, is actually just a vector for people to push for dumb ideas like Tarriffs, Tarrifs which are directly causing a good chunk of the inflation we are now suffering from. The normies were right - free trade was good. Our economy is so strong however, that even with inflation due to idiotic self-destructive trade policy, we are still outperforming the world. Our economy is so balanced right now, that even political incompetence isn't enough to stop it.
Excellent analysis, thank you. What's different now is American workers have not shared in the economic gains of the past 50 years. Fix that and we're back in business.
The fact that the working class had not gotten a raise in more than 30 years. All the benefits of productivity gains (automation, computerization, off-shoring) over all those decades went to the TOP, not shared with the working class. How does that trickle down economics work again ???
You didn't address income inequality, though. Working people have been working longer hours, sometimes multiple jobs, and wages have stagnated. Housing costs are out of control.
when has inequality or housing not been an issue? which party is always the roadblock to these challenges? the republican party. now they want to force parenthood. what do they think the cost of raising additional children without the finances does? that's kitchen table issue, not a government one.
Yep. Just keep pretending that nearly every major sector of the workforce hasn't gone on strike, been on strike or is about to go on strike because all of us poor people have to be dumb, right??
What are people going to measure against other than how they are doing? How they feel about it? Medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy. The middle class has been shrinking. China surpassed the US in 2015 having 109 million people with a net worth over $100,000 USD to America’s 92 million and shrinking
During my last visit this summer, I realized that I just don't feel safe in the US anymore. I have been there many times, but the inequality, the drugs and the mental health crisis has become extremely present for a Scandinavian person like myself. I probably won't make another visit - there are just so many other countries that are not plagued by these problems.
Speaks to my heart, every word. This is the greatest country in the world, no question. Yet, it has lots of problems. Last week I talked to a friend who is a realtor in southern California. She just rented a house to a section-8 tenant and what she learned astonished her, an experienced realtor. The section 8 tenant is a single mom with 4 children and she received $5000 housing allowance every month from the government, $1000 for every child. If any child is disabled, another $1000 for each. The woman has a boyfriend who is the father for all these 4 kids. They didn't get married because they will not qualify for the money if they did. The boyfriend has a job but the woman does not. The system requires that she does not have any income to qualify for the maximum amount, otherwise the allowance will decrease. God knows how much they received for food and other necessities from other government programs. Programs like this make me sick. I have no problem with less fortunate people get help, but I have problems with hard-working tax-payers supporting free-loaders and our system encourages that behavior.
Amidst all these positive numbers in the US, I would point out three negatives. First, income inequality remains a big problem and has only gotten worse. It is a very real problem of a pervasive nature, impacting everything from housing to food to healthcare and a host of other things. Second, immigration has become a top-of-mind issue, real in some parts of the country and "feared" in others due to its exploitation as a political issue. Third is the lack of critical thinking skills among many Americans and their ability to process the mountain of information dumped on them every single day. Too many Americans have a hard time separating fact from fiction and opinion from objective reporting. One could argue political polarization is a legitimate fourth item, however, I lump that problem in as one of the byproducts of widespread American inability to process and critically think through the issues of the day.
@@TheRealRobertG That’s not true. American median incomes and median household incomes are the highest in the world. Cost of living in the US relative to incomes is less than any other country in the world. Americans earn the highest salaries in the world and are taxed very low on those salaries. What more do you people want. Utopia? Paradise? Literal heaven on earth?
He's right. I'm old enough to remember 1974. I think the trap many fall into is that looking back it's easy to say life was simpler because you tend to remember the pleasant and block out the unpleasant.
Was being at school an easier time in 1974? Kids these days are inundated by useless information, so much so that they don’t have free time to take up and practise hobbies. Boys are playing video games incessantly and the guitar makers have gone bust.
@@rustshoo5068 so ... america is fucked because boys play to many video games? Ya know what a worse world is? One where video games don't exist, IE trillions of dollars of wealth, millions of jobs, and an amazing artistic medium for the expression of new ideas. Video Games is a sign of a healthy culture , one that respects and cherishes the arts and artists. It's just a new form of art, and people born in the 1950s don't get it. The same way people born in 1920s thought rock music was corrupting. But the important point here is that's not a complaint about the economy. That's a complaint about some aspect of society that you find annoying, and your filtering it through an economic lens. Change is inevitable. It's scary, weird and confusing. Which is really what's happening. People are weirded out by all the change. We can talk about it. Not all change is good. But that doesn't mean the economy isn't working. It is. We got data.
$34 Trillion in debt. Nearly all of it going to the Bankers, Wall Street, and the MIC. The culture wars are a creation of the MSM, to divide us, distract us, while the scam continues....
I agree with you about the big picture. The problem is all the good working folks who saw their good jobs move away. Many of these people had to take lesser jobs, poor health and other benefits, etc. For our fellow Americans in this position they relate a totally different take on the economy.
This is Trump's international reputation, Trump's bid for Sydney casino 30 years ago rejected due to 'mafia connections The documents, obtained by News Corp, show the Kern/Trump group was one of three deemed “dangerous” by the police board. “Briefly stated, the Police Board considers that HKMS, Federal/Resorts/Sabemo, Kern/Trump, are unacceptable,” the summary of the police report said.
Wahhhhhhhhhhhhh.....and yet the sanctimonious hypocrites willfully ignore the dumpster fire that is the lifetime of grifting by Joey and the Bumblebiden family.
And what about dementia Joe's wrong doings? It would take yrs to uncover all the shady crap he has done with 45yrs of shady doing. Don't get mad at facts.just accept them and put the kool-aid cup down
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting a different outcome. Court case after court case, all with the same outcome. Any member of the public could have given DJT those verdicts in a month, let alone many many excruciating years. More discriminating evidence from women, decades younger than him being revealed, resulting in further court cases/payouts. Women he should have no chance with, given the age gap. Now in his mid 70’s, he watches as his life drifts away. Yet, he thinks this vicious cycle of court case after court case will see him become president again. The opposition let DJT slip through the net once. This time they will ensure they do everything in their power (without any mercy to outsiders) to make sure all candidates are handpicked from within. The only nice saving grace DJT has is, all the dirty laundry is out in the open, plain for everyone to see!
The part he missed completely is how a large part of that per capita growth is accounted for by even higher growth in income inequality & wealth concentration. If one person in a 100 has his wealth grow by a 1000%, while every1 else is stagnant, that's still per capita 10%. The more relevant number is growth in real median household income.
He didn't miss that. Actually by the very data he sites, growth is in the lower teirs of the economy - with unskilled labor getting wage increases in the 20% range over the last decade.
Well said, Mr. Z. I am a senior citizen now, but remember the turmoil of the 60’s, 70’s etc. I’d love to go back some years in age, but not repeat the past. Let’s keep moving forward to a better life for all.
@@ObakuZenCenter When I was a youngster, most women were stay at home moms, taking care of the household and taking care of the kids. One man was capable of providing for the family, pay the bills, save a little money and buy a home. But they would have you believe things are soooo much better now.
It's not stupidity, it's cynicism: our media knows that income and wealth inequality mean that all those "positive economic metrics" only mean that the wealthy are getting wealthier, while everyone else falls further behind. The media just hopes you'll hear them obfuscating your pain behind these "positive metrics" and assume your problems are only being experienced by you, and are thus entirely your own fault.
Unjustified cynicism is stupidity. Economic growth benefits everybody. The large companies are mostly owned by a consortium of pension/mutual funds that regular people are invested in. And most of the ultra-rich individuals' net worth only exists on paper. If you take actual cash into account, the richest people are nowhere near as wealthy as they seem. America is also far from the worst country in the world in terms of income inequality. Thanks to continued economic growth, your standard of living has the potential to increase in the future. I'm from Europe, and although we have a more comfortable work-life balance and better social safety nets, we are trading our future prosperity for our current comfortability, as our productivity has continued to slump since before the 90s. Now our economies are starting to lag behind the rest of the world.
@@JeffPar50 Well it's not difficult to see whether that cynicism is justified or not. Just look at the data. What is the middle class making today adjusted for inflation compared to 20 years ago or 30 years ago. In the 70s it was common for the man of the house to be the bread winner and be able to make enough to support a family. Most families these days have both parents working to make ends meet. Many work multiple jobs and still live paycheck to paycheck. We know the middle class is shrinking and the poverty is increasing. Income inequality is not the worse in the US, there are many third world countries that are much worse. But it is a low bar to set comparing the richest country in the world to under developed countries. And with the going trend we will join the ranks of those third world countries soon enough.
@@JeffPar50 "Economic growth benefits everybody." Not true. In your "example," people with pensions and/or mutual funds benefit. There are very few jobs left that have pensions, they don't pay what they used to, and there are millions of people with no investment portfolio to speak of (it's rather hard to have one when you're living paycheck to paycheck.) "Thanks to continued economic growth, your standard of living has the potential to increase in the future." Not when wage growth isn't keeping up with inflation. And I can't believe you're actually trying to be an apologist for the ultra-wealthy. You're basically saying that it's okay for the rich to take the a disproportionately large share of the spoils of economic growth for doing nothing but having a lot of money, while regular people get scraps despite working harder and being more productive than ever, because hey, things might get a tiny bit better for regular people in the future, even if it's only a tiny fraction of what they should be getting.
EXTREMELY WELL SAID.........You hit the nail on the head........the well-to-do in the media and in upper middle class America are clueless to the suffering of the masses who "do not" get "cost of living increases in their wages to compensate them for the ever increasing prices of everything".........The well to do (like my employer) get more money in their checks than the actual inflation......My job pays the same as 10 years ago; BUT, My employers wages have gone up by %100 percent in 5 years; while mine has stayed the same for 10 years.......I can no longer afford a single solitary thing....... We are "force fed" the great Wall St. numbers.......While we are sinking under the weight of inflation........Yeah!!.....Prices may have stopped increasing ( why would that continue when the filthy rich has raised prices by 50-100-200-300-even 1,000% higher than a few years ago); but merely stopping increases is no help to millions of us who are living on the wages of the 1970's in the outrageously priced present......they will never get it; and they will never raise our wages..........we can all go to hell as far as they are concerned. They are intoxicated with their new wealth that takes us to the cleaners and they will not reverse their pricing; even though they did not even need to raise their prices in the first place........The arrogance and greed of the wealthy is unmatched in this country and they know there is a huge middle class that is compensated for inflation. The millions of us who will end up committing suicide, or end up on the streets are in the minority and of no concern to them........They firmly believe it is our fault that we are not as successful as they are and deserve what we get..........
@@Hardwaregeekx Mate, the situation in the 50s, 60s, and '70s was an outlier. During that time, the US was by far the most dominant economy the world had ever seen. After WW2, the US represented like 50% of global economic output because the rest of the world was so devastated by the war. In no other country at the time, or since then, has a family lived such a comfortable life on one person's salary. As other countries grew economically, increased consumption in other countries has pushed up prices around the world, which leads to inflation. And foreign competition keeps wages low. You can implement protectionist policies to try to counteract this, but those can lead to problems of their own. The point is, this is not a sign that America is doing poorly, this is just a sign that other countries are industrializing. As I am not American I will not try to lecture you on how you should vote, but maybe what America needs is just better social safety nets? Countries like Sweden and Switzerland have similar levels of wealth inequality as the US, and way more billionaires per capita, but they manage.
Love Fareed but for once I feel like the comment section is shedding more light on this issue than his take. The real experiences of daily life in one's own neighborhood and city tend to outweigh any wider-based numerical reports.
This sounds crazily similar to typical CCP propaganda in China. Everyone is feeling like crap but the government says everything is going great for China as a whole (compared with almost everyone else).
Agreed. A week of getting out of his bubble and away from wealthy coastal areas might help him understand what is going on. The numbers only give you part of the picture.
I think a lot of Americans are seeing their daily life and personal problems, combine that with the media everyone consumes, it comes across as very negative. Most people aren’t overly invested in things like gdp. They believe what the media they consume tells them. Even though those media companies are really just trying to keep an audience tuning in and entertained.
They aren't seeing that. By self-report Americans report their own circumstances to be better than they were 5 years ago. They are seeing lots of negative news and people complaining however. But all those complaints are abstract complaints about complex issues they don't even understand but hear about on TV. There is a disconnect between data and feelings - it's real, and I can demonstrate it. High GDP does in fact mean more money for you - and that is also reflected in the data, and by Americans themselves reporting on their own circumstances. THe hard part people don't get is these numbers are just averages - so long as more people are better off than they were 5 years ago, the economy is working correctly. That is in fact true - despite the real problems.
All of this is really great. If a billionaire walks into a room full of homeless people and on average everybody is a multi-millionaire. That is the situation we have in the us. Despite how amazing the US is doing all of the benefits are reaped by the ultra wealthy
Very true, look at median adult wealth by country and average adult wealth. You will see my country Australia is about the same for average wealth, US a bit higher I think but median wealth Australians are more than double that of our US counterparts.
Wealth inequality is at an all-time high and increasing regardless of political party. Wealthy, powerful people and corporations benefit from increasing inequality, so you'll never hear Fareed or CNN talk about it. They don't want poor people thinking about this problem.
Feels like our prize for surviving a worldwide pandemic is not being able to afford anything and receiving no help for society wide mental health issues.
@@rupinderkaur4344 It doesn't matter. Greedflation has eaten up any wage rises, which is why there are now record numbers of homeless, millions regularly go hungry and most in the US cannot afford a $1000 emergency, or proper healthcare. Stop being so gullible and wake up.
@@ObakuZenCenter because much of social security dole out is allocated to the service of older Americans who are likely to also retire richer. Food stamps, Medicare, Medicaid are some of the biggest schemes of the USA and very inefficient
Americans feel badly about how America is heading not because we’re doing well. But because at every turn our politicians are trying to legislate behavior and reduce freedoms.
You mention the stock markets and tech sector but what people see is their rent continuing to climb, cost of groceries still way too high, water and energy bill raising and no substantial wage increases for majority of lower and middle class. So it's nice that they can buy a new flat screen TV or mobile phone for cheap. But everytime we buy groceries and pay rent we say goodbye to the dream ever owning a house or saving for an emergency.
Kids can't go to school without fear of being shot! Quality of life is not improving. He's quoting trickle-down economic numbers which is a debunked economic theory.
The hollowing out of the middle class is a direct result of Repucklican politics and economics over the last 50 years. Yep, it's great to see how "trickle down" policies have worked for most Americans over the last four decades...!!!
Dear Clinton News Network and its idiotic viewers, for the love of God get your information from independent journalists. The rest of us have been telling you the end of the American century is at hand for decades. Now Biden and his service to the Pentagon's rabid imperialism and warmongering has only served to accelerate it. For those of you that think you're gonna vote your way out of the collapse of the US empire, think again. It's already over.
The big difference is there’s no consensus about what constitutes basic reality. Without that, society can’t function. In the past, differences-even violent differences-were about policy, and there could eventually be reconciliation.
I'm from Finland and I totally agree with what he says about how other countries (I'm talking for me only ofc) view the US. We're wondering, why the most powerful and the most impactful country has to bicker with itself? Why cannot they get their shit together and show the world what it means to be the leading country in the world! BTW Thanks for letting us into NATO =) says a finnish leftist :) (before ruzzia attacked Ukraine, I was defiantly against joining NATO, but after that happened I finally realized that we're living in a different world now and that means I need to rethink how I view things, taking into account this new reality. Why can't politicians in the US do this? Seeing things for what they are and not doing poli-tricks...)
The US is still a new country, it needs to weather the current storm, test the mettle of its political system to define itself. It has too many lawyers and I could go on and on, greetings from Poland my NATO friend, yeah i wish we could spend that money on healthcare and schools ( smarter citizens = less issues overall) but the truth of the matter is that one has to be prepared for war to enjoy peace ☮️
Because the Republicans are out of their minds. I am not trying to blame others. But they have changed drastically since Trump was president. And they've become increasingly crazy since. Not the same Republican Party they used to be and it is sad.
Why because the official are pretty much bought and paid for, Supreme Court paid for The rich on the airways what else can I say? Greed and corruption abound
Anyone who thinks joining NATO is a good idea just ask the families of the half million dead Ukrainian men . An entire population of Ukrainian men gone . Why because for over 20 years Russia warned if NATO expanded to Ukraines border it would be a red line . I thought leftists were against war ?
Good points well presented. Thank you! Seen from Europe, America always seemed solution oriented. I think the "unideological" approach still prevails and has a solid majority among Americans.
This is the disconnect between the coasts and the "fly over states". My family is in a former steel mill town in Ohio that is all but gone. It's depressing to drive around the neighborhood my dad grew up in to see it all basically trashed and need to be bulldozed. Even a Walmart closed. Most of the grocery stores are either empty or now have thrift stores. It's so depressing. Things may be doing well in some areas in flyover states, but the only option is leaving others. The people left there have Trump signs everywhere. These types of pieces on CNN emphasizes that the media doesn't acknowledge they exist. The idea that the economy is doing so well when you see the type of 3rd world conditions in your hometown is very difficult.
Agreed, and in the UK they say that if London was not part of the UK economy, it would be as wealthy as somewhere like Mississippi. There are huge swathes that are being ignored and not getting the investment they need to get growing again.
THAT JUST A LIE THERE ARE MANY WEALTHY suburbs in these so called fly over states just look at edmond oklahoma i don t even talk about jackson wyoming there are many more afluents places than just the two coastals areas
Great piece Fareed ... you know, I too have Ms. Haley's nostalgic recollections (as a boomer), but that's mostly what it is - nostalgia. What was good back then, was there was a healthy working class, and inspite of all the problems you listed, working people were a part of the economy. Now, after years of giving the 1% uber wealthy tax breaks, the Republicans have re-created a huge poor class, and a smaller, struggling working class, where millions have less the $500 in the bank, and huge credit card debt. Biden and the current Dems have started TRULY making America great, for the FIRST time. The question you are asking is "why don't Americans realize it" ? And after spending 50 years near wealthy people, I have my own "conspiracy" theory. It is because wealthy conservatives own most of the medias, and do not discuss the latest improvements. The worst of these is FOX entertainment, which 25% of America is glued to, unfortunetly. The wealthy need the poor to do their work. They reinvest their tax cuts in controlling the rest of us. They promote Republicans as if they were honest politicians. They pine for an autocracy where they will control the country. It is a disgrace.
Why are the USA so happy to give tax breaks to the rich? Reagan back in the day propagated 'trickle down' economics, *give money to the rich because they create jobs for the people* LOL
Agree, but I’m guessing that a change in spending habits have a big role in this. Credit card debt, new cars and monthly subscriptions have become the norm. We spend money that we don’t have.
Most Americans, including myself , don’t care if Microsoft or Apple beat their quarterly earnings. We don’t care if they have some AI product they’re going to roll out. I’m so glad that your view of the economy is if black rock gets a a good return on their investment. Why don’t you discuss the prospects of home ownership for people in their 30s or 40s is non existent. That 2 person household income is essential just to afford a home. The prospects of home ownership and caring for a child is a fleeting prospect for many. Let’s talk about the cultural decline in this country and the DEI shakedowns. we’re not impressed that the government can artificially inflate GDP by printing trillions of dollars. National debt is 34 trillion maybe that explains some of the unease
@ed-gn6ki -- 34 trillion debt requires open Debt ceiling now. for any country inflation is major problem to be contained with the country itself -- BUT your country can export inflation to other countries due to global reserve currency status
It is ronical that the people who spurred the creation of ICJ in 1948 & the whole world swore "never again" are the same people being accused of committing genocide against Palestinians. This is a watershed moment that should enrage the world and hold the US & Israel accountable.
Like this is right out of the Biden administration's playbook. They see that many Americans aren't happy and then throw statistics in their face about how amazing the economy is. It's like telling someone in a region of drought that 70 percent of the globe is water. It's 100 percent true... but it really doesn't address that person's drought concerns.
This is why people can’t stand the professional managerial class. All of you who get just enough security to say to the lower classes, screw you whiners! We are doing great! You lazy do nothings (lies btw) have it all in your head. You stand between us and making any real progress in this world because you wanna keep your pie, nice and safe and screw the rest of us. Don’t look to be respected. Don’t look for that.
If I had Fareed's net worth and I was working for the establishment , I'd be feeling good about the future too. Everything would look so rosy... I would even be able to see unicorns.
Let’s start working harder then. I’m first generation American. Parents from Mexico. I’m making over 220k a year and my fiancé is around 115k. Also first gen. We are both 31. By 40 I’ll be a millionaire. I’ve been looking into the race horse industry and we saved up 110k to buy 3 race horses that we have been eyeing for 1 year. Let’s get up and start working hard. It’s America buddy
@@villarreal6 Es bueno oir eso. Háblame después de que tu familia tenga una tragedia. Háblame después de haber tenido que pagar un deducible de más de $10,000... Sólo un viaje en ambulancia puede arruinar a muchas personas en los EE. UU.... Los viajes en ambulancia son gratuitos en México... Probablemente soy mayor que tú. Me encantaría hablar contigo dentro de 10 años... El orgullo viene antes que la destrucción. Y Biden no te ayudará.
@@brianhoran6858 compa no we precupe de trajedias y dinero. El ano nuevo gastamos 32,000 dollares en un grupo Norte no de Mexico “Los canelos de Durango” mi tio de murio en el 2020 y Gastamos 90,000 en solamente su tumba. Los Estados unidos cresimos 4.2 porciento in our economy. More than any other countrie combined under biden.
We're doing great nationally but there are alot of places that have been left behind and incredible inequality. That's where the discontent is coming from.
yes, true. housing and income inequality are a decades long problem that persist. things like child tax credits were hugely popular and helped with poverty. they were shutdown.
@@persuasivebarrier2419 maybe another dose of trickle-down economics will finally make them learn it doesn't work? 😣 I really don't get the people that are unhappy with the results of that waiving the banner of the party that lauds it as the only solution.
@@dreamcoyotetrickle down economics is about lowering taxes so that corporations can invest in innovating new products to make old products cheaper and more affordable to the general public. It’s also about innovating new farm equipment to make food cheaper etc. The cellphone you’re using right now to complain about trickle down economics would’ve cost you 4000$ 40 years ago, now you can afford a cellphone computer hybrid while working at Starbucks. That’s what trickle down economics is. It’s not rich people giving poor people money.. that’s just silly.
@@tyc6268 Trickle down economics results in really rich upper management and investors in the US and provides jobs in China and third world countries. It causes massive income inequality which, eventually leads to less stability. It kills the middle class, which reduces the money consumers have, which FUBARs the top %1 but they are already rich. It worked, just not for the bulk of people who get a crappy shovel for $10 that breaks almost immediately but provides a job for someone in China.
Yes, this is obviously great economically but we have to also consider on an everyday tangible level who exactly is directly reaping the benefits of this economic success? It is not the average american and it's not even racial: whether you're white, black, Asian, latino, etc. the average american individual is not experiencing the benefits of this economic growth in their bank accounts, in their grocery store receipts, etc.. It is the CEOs of those tech companies, their board members and wealthy elites who seem to be reaping the tangible benefits of this economic growth.
"The economy is Great!" meanwile, people struggle more than ever to put food on their table. Economic indexes do not represent the everyday reality in America.
The problem is that corporations are greedy. They want profit to go up. Period. That's all they want. Everything else is a means to that end. And so instead of relaxing prices after the inflationary period, they're keeping prices artificially high. Because they can. So they do.
Stick your left foot in a bucket of ice water and stick your right foot in a bucket of boiling water. On average you should feel perfectly comfortable.
I grew up during the 70's and remember all of this. Yeah... those were the "good olde days." Not! The U.S. was in turmoil, just like today, and it was not all roses for a lot of people. Thanks for the blast from the past, Fareed. You made a solid point on this.
The gap between wealthy and not has gotten broader, and isn’t necessarily reflected in the economy numbers, but sure makes people feel like they’re not doing well. There are also HUGE geographical differences in the US economy. If you take out California and NY, etc, it probably won’t look as good. The good paying factory jobs for people without advanced education don’t exist anymore. Young people can’t afford to buy a house at 20 years old like the prior generations, and many young people have decades of student loan debt in front of them.
$34 Trillion in debt, nearly ALL of it went to the MIC (never ending wars), Wall Street, and the Bankers (bail outs). The working class got no raise for more than 3 decades. All the benefits of productivity improvements went to the TOP. Until Covid. They sent checks to the people. Now we have inflation, that must be stopped..... How's that trickle down economics working...... wait for it..
Yeah, but no one can buy a house, Fareed. Our purchasing power has decreased incredibly as compared to decades ago when my parents came here from Argentina. A cleaning lady or a janitor could buy a house back then. How incredibly out of touch do you have to be to try to tell people everything's hunky dory. (Renting, which isn't the American dream, is also becoming just as difficult to afford.)
As always Fareed, your analysis are factual and it must be said that in all respect you are dutifully contributing to America's freedom and prosperity. Thank you and well done.
You mean the Foxed🖕Up media will always predict the possibility that things might turn negative unless President Orange Jesus is controlling everything
The only point I will raise in criticism of Fareed's analysis is that all of these 'positive metrics' are true... but the system in which they are true, by design, means the vast majority of the benefits of those metrics go to a privileged wealthy class of elites in this country. The average person is hardly seeing the benefits of any of this growth in their daily lives. Prices are still high. Housing is unaffordable. Receiving necessary healthcare treatments puts you at risk of bankruptcy. Food, housing, and a livable income are not inherent rights. And we're seeing a rise in racial discrimination and advocacy for harmful social policies against minorities and LGBTQ folks. America may be doing economically well... but the American people are not.
@@monacophotographyevents2384 I look forward to a day when it is an unknown concept here as well. But as long as people are still able to make money off of human suffering and need, I don't see it happening. This country is run on greed and profit margins, not on human dignity or compassion
The biggest problem that each of us will face very soon is the increase in natural disasters. We are entering an era of huge disasters of enormous power and scale. Compared to this, all the other problems will seem a little trifle. If we do nothing now, in 5-7 years it will be impossible to live on the planet. There is a solution and a way out, but we need to take action. Only when billions speak out, will scientists, presidents and the media hear us. The real reason for the rapid increase of catastrophes, and also the way out of the situation are voiced here: "Global Crisis. The Responsibility" (online forum).
He is totally wrong - this is election propaganda. The machine is starting its push for 2024. Cnn is hoping people are dumb and will forget the last 3 years of turmoil.
This guy isnt very bright. There's a very clear contrast between Trumps presidency and Bidens. Under Trump prices were half what they are now. The world was at the closest thing to world peace that we have seen in our lifetimes. Boys and girls were gendered by what was between their legs. Now compare that to Biden. Prices are double what they were 3 years ago, the world is on the brink of "Armageddon"
It isn't the rate of inflation, it's the fact that PRICES ARE STILL TOO HIGH!!! And we all see it every time we pay our bills and go to the grocery store. Not to mention there are NO houses to be bought at reasonable prices. The fact you dont understand that shows how insulated you are from the daily lives of 95% of Americans.
I miss having hope for the future. In my life, or seeing how the world develops. I used to be so excited to see what comes next. Now, I fear it. Nay, I'm petrified of it. I feel like I woke up one day in a world that looks the same, but is full of so much more evil (for lack of a better term).
@@TheRealRobertG Well, there were fewer US home owners, far more people dying of diseases that we can now prevent, few fewer college graduates, and that not even adding the Cold War into things.
0:43 that’s because it is doing great if you own a home at 2%, have a car loan you paid off at 0%, and your investment portfolio includes the magnificent 7……. The majority of people have rent increases, insurance increases, cost of food increases, streaming services increases, energy cost increases and even with the increase in jobs and wages- somehow that didn’t change the daily grind for my socioeconomic class here in America. Wages are up but never kept pace with cost of living and investor growth.
Mr. Zakaria, you do not see because you don't want to see. Our country is going downhill as each year that passes the government does less and less for the average citizen, What happens for stock owning millionaires make no difference at all.
Not true. The data does not show that. If you ask Americans how they feel about their own personal circumstances, they feel pretty good about that. If you ask Americans how they think everyone else is doing, they say they are fucked. There is a clear disconnect here. America is outperforming it's competitors in every possible dimension. If America is struggling - then the world must be a radioactive wasteland. Neither of those things are true.
Al those numbers about GDP are nothing to the American people. What they see is the price of gas are very high, the cost of living is ridiculous high, the price of housing are forbidden. Those are some the numbers the American people care and understand.
Dont know much about America and its state of affairs but one key message that is worthy of consideration is how often we portray past as golden and present as soiled. This is a very common human behavior but countries, states and mainstream media should not bite that bait. No matter where you look, overall, humanity has only progressed in the positive direction.
Watching this report has walkedme a few steps BACK from the abysmal rhetoric and fear mongering of the GOP. It gives me hope, it fills me we pride. KNOWING it was MY VOTE that put Biden in office. And it is MY VOTEwhich will HOPEFULLY will KEEP him there.
Step one, replace all the immature politicians currently in office, both federal and state level with adult thinking open minded ones who are willing to work together. Something we haven't had for a long time.
Immature of course but also the old and senile. I'm tired of seeing videos of politicians that have no term limits speaking about nonsense. We need age limits and term limits.
What a load of crap. If a person takes on additional debt, spends 70% on expanding his share portfolio, but splurge 30% on drugs and hookers, that's not improving economics. Sooner or later he'll has to take on even more debt to pay for previous borrowings. No amount of healthy economic data will change the fact that the American economy now runs solely on the ability to borrow. And the world is now quietly asking themselves if America is ever going to pay any of it back.
I always enjoy listening to Fareed. He has such great perspective. And, as he says, life was never simple except to the simpletons who gloss over reality and remember life as it never was.
There was no cell phones, no internet, no computers, you had to talk to people, communicate, and go to the store to get what you wanted, Ah the good old Days!😊
America has many things, most people can only dream of: a somewhat running economy, free speech, freedom, beautiful architecture and nature, sane politicians. Where I live, I will be ledd, if I speak my mind.
Some good points, and I’m a proud American myself albeit currently living overseas, but no mention of the elephant in the room - the $34+ trillion national debt, with no plan to tackle it, no plan to make a plan to tackle it, no political will or ideas how to at least change the trajectory, etc. I’m a big fan of Fareed but I’m sorry - it’s inexcusable to omit this from your spiel.
I can tell you a few major things that may friends and I, average working people, have been grumbling about for a while. First is the price of food from the grocery store i.e. bread, milk, and the like has doubled and in some cases tripled. Some food items which were staples are now being reconsidered and passed up. Buying or renting houses or apartments is out of reach. The price of new and used vehicles is crazy high and out of reach. The 2x higher interest rates. Utilities have also gone up quite a bit. There are many more examples that no one seems to talk about. I doubt these things are even considered in determining the inflation rate considering it seems much worse than has been reported. Meanwhile, our wages have gone up but very very little. We are currently much worse off financially than we were. I don't feel like I'm middle class anymore. And then there is media which is basically a short form of escapism. It has not been enjoyable for quite a some time.
I hear ya but ya know inflation was much worse in the 70's...interest rates in the late 70's to buy a home were around 18%....also, there was a point in the 70's when you couldn't buy gas everyday...only every other day based on your license plate...fights breaking out at gas stations, people stealing gas out of your car with a suction hose...yeah, now that's bad!
@@jamesrgoes I was born in 1968 and barely remember some of that. I grew up very poor in the projects near Detroit. I was able to get out and up but it now feels like it's creeping up behind me if that makes sense
