• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Good news for American economy

pearl

Well-Known Member

F1fan

Veteran Member
The US economy is growing at 5.5%. Unemployment is at 3.9%. This is the best of all other Western nations. The fast growing economy is one reason there is inflation, so much demand for products and supplies.
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
The US economy is growing at 5.5%. Unemployment is at 3.9%. This is the best of all other Western nations. The fast growing economy is one reason there is inflation, so much demand for products and supplies.
How much is actual economic growth, vs how
much is inflation (ie, currency devaluation resulting
in dollar price increases & more dollars being spent?
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
Isn't this what stimulates the economy, inflation or not, spending?
Let's say that...
In 1970, I spent $100 on a widget.
There's 7% inflation for a decade.
In 1980, I spent $200 on another widget.

$100 (1970) is economically equal to $200 (1980).
Is that an increase in the economy?
Or is it an increase in the number of dollars
required for the same economic activity?
 

sayak83

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
How much is actual economic growth, vs how
much is inflation (ie, currency devaluation resulting
in dollar price increases & more dollars being spent?
Growth is usually reported as inflation adjusted, though the base year level has to be taken into account.
 

sun rise

The world is on fire
Premium Member
How much is actual economic growth, vs how
much is inflation (ie, currency devaluation resulting
in dollar price increases & more dollars being spent?

And it's important not to consider inflation in the US in isolation given that it's a world-wide phenomenon Here's how rising inflation is affecting us around the world

I can read the WSJ due to my local library! This is what that far left wing outlet had to say:

What is causing inflation right now?

The current bout of inflation has several identified causes, many of them linked to the pandemic. For one, consumers are flush with savings from government stimulus programs and depressed services spending from restrictions on businesses, leading them to open the spigot for goods that are in scarce supply.

There also are fewer workers in the labor market, encouraging those who are working to demand raises and crimping overall productivity. These factors and many others are driving up costs.

Energy prices, including gasoline, have gone up as oil-and-gas production lags behind a return of consumer demand coming out of the pandemic. This return of demand has also led to supply-chain disruptions. Truck drivers, seaport slots and warehouse spaces are all in short supply, leading to costly delays and rising shipping rates for goods.

These added costs, at every step from production to sale, lead to price increases for consumers, with some companies seizing on a rare opportunity to raise prices.
 

F1fan

Veteran Member
How much is actual economic growth, vs how
much is inflation (ie, currency devaluation resulting
in dollar price increases & more dollars being spent?
More demand will cause higher prices. A better economy will mean higher demand.

Of course those in the lower economic strata will not see the benefits as much as the middle class. The rich? They are doing so well that their net worth on average increased dramatically during the pandemic. The haves know how to exploit need and make profits. The rest of us scramble to make ends meet. And that is the squirrel cage we want.
 

F1fan

Veteran Member
Let's say that...
In 1970, I spent $100 on a widget.
There's 7% inflation for a decade.
In 1980, I spent $200 on another widget.

$100 (1970) is economically equal to $200 (1980).
Is that an increase in the economy?
Or is it an increase in the number of dollars
required for the same economic activity?
Or you can buy a better widget in 1980 for $90 because widgets are in such high demand that production costs are lower. And they are made in China with lower labor costs, thus you save.

A VCR in 1978 was about $900. Ten years later they were a fraction of that price with better features.
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
And it's important not to consider inflation in the US in isolation given that it's a world-wide phenomenon Here's how rising inflation is affecting us around the world
The rate of inflation (currency devaluation) can vary greatly
around the world. So being a common phenomenon around
the world doesn't mean it can be ignored. Even Ameristan's
lower rate has significant consequences to us.
One comparison...
zimbabwe-usa-930.png

Ref...
Inflation rates in Zimbabwe

Inflation is a natural consequence of recent large increases
in deficit spending. To cite other causes doesn't mean the
dollar hasn't lost value due to monetary expansion faster
than economic expansion.
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
More demand will cause higher prices. A better economy will mean higher demand.
While true, that's not the only factor contributing to inflation.
Looking at the extreme example of Zimbabwe, that clearly
cannot be explained by supply & demand.
Of course those in the lower economic strata will not see the benefits as much as the middle class. The rich? They are doing so well that their net worth on average increased dramatically during the pandemic. The haves know how to exploit need and make profits. The rest of us scramble to make ends meet. And that is the squirrel cage we want.
Lower earners might have an advantage over the middle
class regarding inflation due to taxation. Marginal income
tax bracket creep is less, the lower one's wage is.
The wealthy are generally more sophisticated, so they'll
have investments designed with inflation in mind...which
could be an excellent argument against institutionalized
inflation (ie, government monetary policy designed to
devalue currency).
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
Or you can buy a better widget in 1980 for $90 because widgets are in such high demand that production costs are lower. And they are made in China with lower labor costs, thus you save.

A VCR in 1978 was about $900. Ten years later they were a fraction of that price with better features.
Altering the assumptions of the hypothetical in order
to deny the point I'm trying to illustrate, eh. Are you
arguing that all price increases are due solely to demand
&/or improvements in quality....not due to currency devaluation?
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
To set up the new silicon manufacturing at Ohio, Intel will be spending at least $20 billion as an initial investment. The company will setup up two chip manufacturing factories spread across 1000 acres of land. Intel also plans to expand this to 2000 acres of land, where, it will setup up to 8 chip manufacturing plants.

Read more at: Intel Is Building World's Largest Chip Manufacturing Plant In Ohio, USA: Will Be Operational By 2025
I prefer a good paying steel mill with a full pension program making a comeback.

Do you think a tech manufacturer can duplicate that?
 

sayak83

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
I prefer a good paying steel mill with a full pension program making a comeback.

Do you think a tech manufacturer can duplicate that?
Those days are gone. Most steel manufacturing is highly automated nowadays anyway.
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
Those days are gone. Most steel manufacturing is highly automated nowadays anyway.
Not really. I've been in enough of them to know there's plenty of manual tasking involving the equipment still around.

The only thing I've seen automated is the train / rail system.
 

Saint Frankenstein

Wanderer From Afar
Premium Member
The US economy is growing at 5.5%. Unemployment is at 3.9%. This is the best of all other Western nations. The fast growing economy is one reason there is inflation, so much demand for products and supplies.
Somehow I doubt those numbers, especially when millions of people were quitting their jobs each month last year (probably still are, but the news is burying the story). They always lie about those stats to make it seem better than it is. There's a severe labor shortage.
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
Somehow I doubt those numbers, especially when millions of people were quitting their jobs each month last year (probably still are, but the news is burying the story). They always lie about those stats to make it seem better than it is. There's a severe labor shortage.
I think people woke up to how much employees have been taken advantage of by their employers.

While senior mgt is well off , people are finding they themselves are not, and are just not going to be used like that anymore.

I'm actually a bit humbled by all of this and elated at least for now as employers are scrambling to sweeten the honeypot to attract and retain its workforce that keeps them in business in the first place.

Without them, a company is nothing.
 

Kooky

Freedom from Sanity
Somehow I doubt those numbers, especially when millions of people were quitting their jobs each month last year (probably still are, but the news is burying the story). They always lie about those stats to make it seem better than it is. There's a severe labor shortage.
Most of the economic recoveries in the last two decades of US history have been jobless or mostly jobless. It's not implausible in that light, especially considering that most capital in the West is tied in rent seeking, rather than the places that would commonly employ a lot of people.
 
Top