Poll of the Day > Do you believe that the u.s. economy is doing better now than

(+) Yeah! (+)

it was 10 yrs ago, overall? seems more physical stores are closing

Still some fallout from the pandemic but more or less the same.

KJ_StErOiDs posted...

Still some fallout from the pandemic but more or less the same.

isn't the total gdp of the u.s. up since like 10 yrs ago. It kinda doesn't seem like it though

GDP has very little bearing on whether or not local small businesses can stay open. The Amazons and Walmarts of the world drive most of that GDP, to the considerable detriment of smaller businesses.

adjl posted...

GDP has very little bearing on whether or not local small businesses can stay open. The Amazons and Walmarts of the world drive most of that GDP, to the considerable detriment of smaller businesses.

yeah you may be right. The huge corporations probably dominate more at this time than at any time in the u.s's history. Hard to believe that like 100 or 200 yrs ago that everything was dominated by really small businesses

even if it were technically true, it sure don't feel like it

AltOmega2 posted...

it sure don't feel like it

You mean because of all the inflation making you pay more money for exactly the same quantity of a given product, the will of corporations imposing upon the consumer the burden of sending electronic tips because they cannot be bothered to pay their own employees properly, landlords increasing rent at a rate faster than the wage of their tenants can keep up with, or some other depressing aspect of this world that further reminds you that it largely revolves around the pursuit of this thing called "money"?

We still dont have our 24 hour mcdonalds back

It definitely isn't. Things will always get worse, never better. If they get better, then it's too good to be true and will suddenly get much worse than they've ever been.

Depends what you mean by "the economy"

If you mean the overall "amperage" of the currency current, it's always going down and has been for the last 60 years or so... but the "voltage" goes up to compensate

KJ_StErOiDs posted...

Still some fallout from the pandemic but more or less the same.

The Pandemic government supports allowed a lot of companies/stores to survive, that would have gone down even without Covid.

I think it is less that stores are closing and more that consumer interest have changed. Sure, you don't see a lot of smaller shops, but it is not like those stores are just remaining empty. Salons, tanning places, barbers, restaurants, etc. are all still thriving. Hell, the old frozen yogurt shop near me got replaced by a Code Ninjas of all things.

The "real" economy has been on a downward spiral since pre-Great Recession (and the seeds of it have been planted and fertilized constantly dating back to Reagan).
Incomes are largely stagnant, costs of essentials have skyrocketed, jobs have been shipped overseas or replaced with automation, people are going into heavy debt (and more of it into high interest / risky debt like credit cards), the social security system is a decade from going bust, the government's debt load is getting so unwieldy that just paying the interest on it is becoming a huge portion of annual spending....

But hey, stocks have achieved near perpetual "line go up" status and the GDP is higher w/ the average person having nothing to show for it, so who cares about any of the above, right?

streamofthesky posted...

But hey, stocks have achieved near perpetual "line go up" status

Dark thought... stocks will always appear to go up if the value of currency goes down.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/0/6/AAfWbXAAEj66.jpg

Lokarin posted...

stocks will always appear to go up if the value of currency goes down

It's like something out of that novel that takes place in the year 1984.

KJ_StErOiDs posted...

Still some fallout from the pandemic but more or less the same

Lol what? Were you working ten years ago? Food is more than double what it cost 10 years ago and so is rent/mortgages. I make almost 3 times what I did 10 years ago and I have to budget more than ever now

Oh it's one of those topics.

GranTurismo posted...

more physical stores are closing

Big box retail outlets that aren't named Walmart are closing because they are no longer relevant to the average consumer. This has been happening since the late 90s...

KJ_StErOiDs posted...

Still some fallout from the pandemic but more or less the same.

Literally has nothing to do with it. Pandemic is responsible for a massive reduction in demand for office space however.

adjl posted...

GDP has very little bearing on whether or not local small businesses can stay open. The Amazons and Walmarts of the world drive most of that GDP, to the considerable detriment of smaller businesses.

OP is talking about retail businesses and local retail businesses are practically non existent in my life time. Maybe in Canada.

GranTurismo posted...

yeah you may be right. The huge corporations probably dominate more at this time than at any time in the u.s's history. Hard to believe that like 100 or 200 yrs ago that everything was dominated by really small businesses

For the supply chain? Absolutely. Otherwise? Delusional. Who do you think owns those Amazon Marketplace sellers and who do you think cooks your order out food? Oh wait this is PotD. PotD doesn't actually eat food that isn't fast or frozen & prepackaged.

teddy241 posted...

We still dont have our 24 hour mcdonalds back

Case and point.

EclairReturns posted...

inflation

Another delusional "it's the man's fault" rant blaming actual small businesses for all of the worlds problems. Oh wait, I'm betting your "electronic tips" come from the food delivery app you're paying instead of actually going to an actual restaurant for your service instead of some ghost kitchen that's actually Denny's.

Nichtcrawler-X posted...

The Pandemic government supports allowed a lot of companies/stores to survive, that would have gone down even without Covid.

The one reasonable post in this thread so far. My company probably would not have survived without the COVID-19 relief package and the CHiPS Act later on.

Dikitain posted...

I think it is less that stores are closing and more that consumer interest have changed. Sure, you don't see a lot of smaller shops, but it is not like those stores are just remaining empty. Salons, tanning places, barbers, restaurants, etc. are all still thriving. Hell, the old frozen yogurt shop near me got replaced by a Code Ninjas of all things.

This 100%.

streamofthesky posted...

The "real" economy

The rEaL eCoNoMy

Also literally reading anything Lokarin posts in 2023. This is the guy that's worse than ICOYAR-tier but somehow gets a pass.

tldr: I am tired this afternoon. This thread piqued my interest, but in usual PotD fashion it's incredibly boring and doesn't have much insightful discussion.

OhhhJa posted...

Lol what? Were you working ten years ago? Food is more than double what it cost 10 years ago and so is rent/mortgages. I make almost 3 times what I did 10 years ago and I have to budget more than ever now

"Prices are double but I make 3 times as much" - actually read your post before you post it lmfao.

Maybe if PotD stopped buying soda subscriptions, going to McDonalds, and had more than a part time job at Dollar Tree they'd actually have money.

Judgmenl posted...

"Prices are double but I make 3 times as much" - actually read your post before you post it lmfao.

Cmon dookie boy, you need context before jumping to conclusions. I also have more bills to pay now compared to when i was in my early 20s. But are you really pretending that wages have kept up with cost of living? Because they haven't. Not even fucking close

No

Gonna have to say no.

I mean just because the economy is doing great doesn't mean I can afford groceries.

Companies have monopolized, the economy is doing great! All hail the money gods!

housing was much more affordable in 2013 than 2023, everything was cheaper then and i had more buying power. cant wait to see the establishment freak out in 20 years because no one can afford to have kids now

Judgmenl posted...

OP is talking about retail businesses and local retail businesses are practically non existent in my life time. Maybe in Canada.

By all means, please continue to tell me what stores do and do not exist in the outside world that you haven't actually seen in a decade.

adjl posted...

By all means, please continue to tell me what stores do and do not exist in the outside world that you haven't actually seen in a decade.

yeah no shit , what is this guy talking about?