Better Off Now Than 5 Years Ago? by: Paul Kedrosky posted on: April 21, 2008 http://seekingalpha.com/article/73124-better-off-now-than-5-years-ago I normally disregard these "Are you better off now than you were X years/months/minutes/seconds ago"? surveys. They are usually selective, small sample, tough to generalize, etc. But that said, this Pew summary of 40 years of such surveys among the middle-class in America is remarkable: We are at a 40-year low, with most of the emotional carnage having happened in the last six months. That is the sharpest decline in the poll's history. So, are you better off than five years ago? Worse? Other? Indifferent? Bemused? Do tell.
Referring to the chart, Quality of people being polled are getting worse, but the economy certainly is not worse than the late 1970's to early 1980's.
1) Better 2) The chart can not properly reflect the fact that more people are participating in the market today than ever before who tend to respond quickly & pessimistically to bearish trends.
Also note that many discovered their house to be a wondrous ATM machine in 2002/2003/2004. For those that took out mortgages on their houses five years ago to finance a 3rd car, a Gucci bag collection for the wife or half a dozen of Swiss watches will probably feel they're not doing as "well" today than they did then.
Great point. Now that they have to pay that debt back, after many of them seeing their neighborhood housing values decline year over year, it's probably rational for them to feel pessimistic. Gas prices and food prices are crushing the middle to lower class right now - especially families with children. Nat gas is the next timebomb. The way things are going with the dollar and futures market, people are going to be shocked to see their heating bills this year - more so than gasoline increase shock.
I went through $750 in heating oil in about 32 days, There may still be some left from my $850 refill. My wife's nose gets cold.
I forgot about heating oil - yeah, the northeast got hammered with those increases. I'm telling you guys that Bernanke is a class A idiot, as are nearly all elected officials, as they campaign for a weak dollar, and campaign for biofuels and ethanol - they are making life miserable at the grocery store, pump and utility bill. If this trend continues, unabated, you're going to see a definite level 2 or 3 recession in the U.S. (the kind we had beginning in 1973).