The Way Forward
Related: About this forumWe definitely need to get away from this whole stock market/the dow as a measure of the economy
I'm going to credit my friend and colleague, ashliy, with this idea. She does not post here, but there will be a link to something where she does at some point in the near future.
Paraphrasing her, we need to get away from using billionaires and the stock market as a way of seeing how the economy is doing.
Instead, let's ask formally and with gut checks...
How many bankruptcies are going on right now?
How many bankruptcies from medical bills are going on right now?
How lucrative is it to be a debt buyer or a debt collector right now?
How lucrative is it to be a repossession agent right now?
How many evictions are going on right now?
How many foreclosures are going on right now?
How many of us are afraid to call for an ambulance right now?
How many of us are putting off getting medical care or therapy not because of anxiety but because of cost right now?
How many people are getting their wages garnished right now?
Look at those questions above - What we need to do is realize that the more of these there are, the greater the answer to them... the worse the economy is.
We must come to see a "strong economy" or a "great economy" is simply not compatible with "record-high evictions" or "more people are being hounded by debt collectors over medical bills" at the same time.
marybourg
(13,259 posts)ck4829
(36,517 posts)Honestly, I think there is much better understanding of this than there was, say, prior to the Great Recession. There is also greater acceptance of the idea that market fluctuations are more-less decoupled from politics and major news events, the exceptions being major news events that impact the price of some commodity or shipping, or economic disturbance in another major nation, or something tangibly related to currencies.
I don't mind that Trump conflates market performance and economy because millions of Americans do invest and none of those who do want to see markets plummet under Trump (although it's likely to happen at some point).
DFW
(57,084 posts)We shouldnt accept the stock market as the ONLY measure of the economy.
I agree the issues listed in the OP need to be addressed. Not only because they should be addressed, but because they CAN be addressed. I hope and believe that we have the resources to do so. Our messaging has to reflect that it is more important that an ambulance ride does not bankrupt the patient inside than checking the ID of every waiter who speaks with a Mexican accent. Having been in DC, Chicago, Orlando, NYC and Dallas in less than 4 weeks (not a complete list, either), I have spoken Spanish with a LOT of people in the service industries. From waiters to skilled dental hygienists. Agreed, we cant absorb the whole of Latin America, but these people just are NOT the problem.
On the other handagain, I stress that these are only impressions from my snapshot journeythe airports, airplanes, hotels, restaurants, stores, etc. have been full to the max. We cant pretend its 1932 again, because it simply isnt. We lose our credibility if we say it is. The economic situation is far more nuanced than just the extremes. If we claim otherwise, we lose credibility with those voters who know from experience that neither extreme tells the whole story.