Some people are doing very well in this economy. But in spite of the political rhetoric and inflated balance sheets, the reality is that most people are suffering as portion sizes get smaller, prices rise, and quality declines. This is because people are getting poorer. One can see it in any store or by a simple price check. You do not get as much for your dollar as you did thirty years ago, and certainly thirty years before that time.
The economy for all practical purposes died in 2007, and the recession has continued since then, with just the illusion of a recovery. The very wealthy do not experience this, but the poor do by force, and as an article from the New York Post declares, the economy is getting worse and most people are suffering.
Even as wages overall are rising, about 50 percent of US workers received no pay raises last year, according to Bankrate. And in real terms, some say average salaries are stagnant.
“Today’s average inflation-adjusted wage in America has the same purchasing power that it did in 1978,” Liam Hunt, a market analyst at SophisticatedInvestor.com, told The Post. “That’s despite macroeconomic growth in terms of GDP, salary increases for the highest bracket of income earners and rapidly rising home costs,” he added. “In a growing economy, we should see real wage growth, though we haven’t.” (source)
For this reason, it is all the more important for the average person to get a second job, or to work as much overtime as possible. This will be hard, and it will require sacrifice. However, the reality is that the job market will continue to decline, and things will get a lot harder. When the next major recession happens, which will likely be around 2023, but could come earlier because of the effects of COVID-19 on economies around the world, there will be more job losses, and it will be even harder to find work.
Money is going to get harder to earn, which is all the more reason to earn it now.
Remember the story of the ant and the grasshopper, where the ant worked to sacrifice now for the good of the future, while the grasshopper, lazy and consumed with himself, did not and froze to death.
There is another economic winter coming. Prepare now so you are not caught “frozen” and without a “coat”.