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“It may not seem so to some, but many Americans are struggling . . . “

Photo above - this is one of the images returned when I googled "AI art average American" . . .

“It may not seem so to some, but many Americans are struggling”. This sort of observation – in the opening of the interview with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant (linked below) – completely encapsulates the disconnect between Washington DC, Wall Street, and “many Americans”.

To be fair to Secretary Bessant, those are NOT his own words. They were penned by the reporter for “The Street”. The target audience for this publication is well-to-do investors who imagine they are going to read some secret known only to the craftiest Wall Street bigshots.

“It may not seem so . . .but Americans are struggling”. Ponder those words for a moment. How can ANYONE be so completely disconnected from the reality to not realize that . . .

78% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck

The average salary is $59,000 a year. This may SEEM adequate, but . . .

The average cost of a home is $420,000. $59K salary qualifies you only for a mortgage on a $150K home. Try buying anything, anywhere, for that. You’d need an income of $170K to get an “average” $420K home.

The average rent in America is $2,100. More than half of your $59,000 income (after social security withholding, Medicare withholding, federal income tax, and state income tax) would go toward rent. Better to live in mom’s basement, no?

I’m not going to do a deep dive on mortgage defaults, evictions, car repo’s, credit card delinquencies, unpaid child support, food stamp use, bankruptcies. Anyone can doomscroll these for themselves if – like Wall Street and DC – they are disconnected from how average Americans actually live.

I bet Treasury Secretary Bessant didn’t understand how his anodyne remarks on inflation and unemployment would be read by average Americans. But Bessant has a point. The federal government – if it sticks with interest rates, the go-to tool, is bound to screw up either inflation or unemployment. If you're only tool is a hammer, the world is going to get nailed.

No matter what, Trump is going to be blamed for what comes next in the American economy. And despite the truly awful economic job done by aides who concealed Biden's advancing dementia, Trump will deserve all the blame he gets. Nobody asked for a trade war with Canada, 401k balances in a death spiral, FAA controllers to be fired, or more unemployment in general. Trump told us fixing things would be painless. It never is. We always get fooled by campaign rhetoric. Shame on us.

I’m just sayin’ . . .

Treasury Secretary delivers startling message on U.S. economy

Majority of Americans Live Paycheck To Paycheck – Forbes Advisor

Average Salary in the U.S. in 2024

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ElwoodBlues · M

@SusanInFlorida says

And despite the truly awful economic job done by aides who concealed Biden's advancing dementia,

DEAD WRONG!!!

Biden inherited a MESS from tRump and built the economy back up STRONGER than it ever was under tRump!!

For the first time in literally GENERATIONS, real wages are growing for the lower quintile of US workers. And they're growing FASTER under Biden than they did under Obama or Trump. For the first time in GENERATIONS, the lower half of workers are sharing in our economic growth!

There were more than 5,000,000 (FIVE MILLION) more people employed by the end of the Biden admin than during the peak under Trump. Just read the graph.

And the number unemployed is historically low!

Inflation? The pandemic deflation was followed by worldwide inflation; that is now gone.

However, I do agree with you that the upcoming tariff-driven recession will be entirely tRump's fault, even as he does his best to blame it on Biden.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@ElwoodBlues

thanks for your extensive powerpoint slide show. Which entirely fails to explain why (under biden)

1 - homelessness doubled

2 - inflation doubled

3 - fed funds and mortgage rates more than tripled

4 - the federal government spent twice as much as it collected in taxes

GerOttman · 61-69, M

@ElwoodBlues I just have to ask because it's been bothering me... Does it help you cope in some way to deliberately spell the president's name wrong? Is it like not saying Candyman or Voldemort? if you don't say it out loud he won't really exist! I notice you're not the only one who does it. Is it like a secret club handshake or something?

ElwoodBlues · M

@SusanInFlorida says

Which entirely fails to explain why

Wrong.

I provided an overview of the whole economy; you cherry-picked a few statistics driven by international post-pandemic inflation.

Avectoijesuismoi · 31-35

In fairness to both Trump (1st time) and Biden they both each inherited a big mess that has been spiralling out of control probably for a couple of decades before either was President.
Fixing a mess requires lots of pain and lots of hard choices.
It is basically a Business Rescue Plan that has to be enacted where things have to get cut to save expense and also expenditure has to be curbed very hard
The story about earnings and housing etc is the same the world over though where average earners are struggling to afford to buy and that fuels the rental price to increase.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@Avectoijesuismoi partial credit. Presidents ALWAYS inherit a big mess. That's why the White House changes hands regularly.

It wasn't helpful to Kamala's campaign when she repeated asserted in interviews that she "wouldn't change a thing" (that Biden was doing) if she got elected.

We elect presidents - whether its Kamala, Trump, or Biden - to fix things.

The last president I was in any way happy with was William Jefferson Clinton. And only mildly so, in hindsight.

MistyCee

Seems like Trump's "best move" may be to become an "economic war time President," and keep deflecting onto the rest of the world (including Biden and all Presidents after McKinley).

It kind of sucks for the country and the world, imo, but it's a hand he knows how to play and who knows, maybe things will work themselves out in spite of him.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@MistyCee presidents always claim "it was broken when i got here".

yeah, but you were elected to fix it. not make it worse.

MistyCee

@SusanInFlorida Yup, but Trump really is different from all other Presidents. I can't think of anyone else who made Day 1 promises, for example, and certainly not to do it by being a dictator.

He's also got, I guess you could call it "vision", or delusions, or whatever, but he really seems to have sold people on accepting his alternative facts, even when they change to suit his whimsy.

If someone on Fox pitches economic bleach, hydra whatchamacallit, or whatever, it suits his fancy and it actually works, it would be nice.

LordShadowfire · 46-50, M

I love it that you perpetuate the myth of Biden having dementia, in spite of the fact that he very nearly led us to recovery in four short years. Had he or Kamala won the last election, we would be well on our way to economic prosperity right now. Thank you for perpetuating the lies that helped Trump win.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@LordShadowfire I love it when progressives deny the reporting and books by their own thought leaders documenting this coverup. A google search of "Biden cognitive decline" produces 75,128 hits, including this one by Jake Tapper. People who try to censor open discussion never have the facts on their side. Otherwise they'd welcome debate.

https://www.newsweek.com/jake-tapper-faces-backlash-over-new-book-bidens-cognitive-decline-2036589

this may be your worst reply in history.

LordShadowfire · 46-50, M

@SusanInFlorida Jake Tapper? The guy working for Conservative News Network?

Look, if your argument is that CNN threw him under the bus, therefore he's got dementia, you have no room to talk about who has the worst reply in history.

Bumbles · 51-55, M

If you think Biden did anything but improve the economy you're some kind of partisan hack. Maybe not MAGA, but you lack objectivity and just engage in polemic.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@Bumblesthen how come . . .

1 - housing prices skyrocketed

2 - consumer goods inflation reached 11%

3 - tent cities expanded exponentially in california

4 - we spent almost double what was collected in taxes

Bumbles · 51-55, M

@SusanInFlorida

I did some research and have to apologize. You are absolutely right.

1. Biden ordered a pause on new construction, which was finally going gangbusters after cities removed NIMBY zoning, and reversed expedited new construction permits, because that’s what former VPs do.

2. As former VP, Biden started COVID, shut down the supply chain, and then refused to allow oil companies to refine oil once demand picked up.

3. Biden ordered the evacuation of homeless shelters.

4. Biden’s spending caused the first deficit since Clinton.

Will you ever forgive me? 😱

SomeMichGuy · M

Then you should have been celebrating the strong economy we had before DJT.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@SomeMichGuy you mean the 11% inflation economy? The economy where the federal government spent twice as much most years as it collected in tax revenue? the economy where homelessness surged?

are YOU celebrating those? Why?

SomeMichGuy · M

@SusanInFlorida

Again, let's use facts.

1) Inflation was worldwide
2) It was handled here, because it ended up at 2.5% overall last August:

Do you think a deficit is made better by reducing income?

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