Elitist propaganda. Eat the rich
AP Newswire is generally a good source of information yes, and while the person you are responding to is being bombastic, they’re not materially wrong.
Everything AP presents here is presented in the tone of “this is the best we can do” and the idea that bringing us barely back to sustenance levels we were at before (there was certainly a big homeless problem in my city before COVID) is a “great” thing to be presenting as a winning campaign issue belies the real suffering many, many US citizens are currently suffering.
It’s also choosing to make measurements and metrics that benefit the status quo instead of choosing different metrics that do show the real picture for citizens on the ground in the USA.
Does that mean it’s fully propaganda. No, but it’s inability to talk about the issue outside the prescribed accepted discourse presents a problem as it does not show the full picture. It’s much like the Clinton campaign in 1992 pushing protestors at campaign events outside of the view of the television cameras. As long as it’s not in the picture, it effectively doesn’t exist.
Chomsky said it best:
The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum - even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that there’s free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate.
I was wondering when APnews would be suspect in this sub… turns out it’s when it veers outside the accepted discourse on lemmy… or doesn’t appease them enough.
Status quo, hiding the “real” picture… unreal. All of this while providing absolutely no evidence contrary to anything in the article. Quality discussion.
The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion
Case in point for for enforcing the limits - I just heard the head of the corporate landlord association in Canada suggesting that the government buying old buildings instead of them would be Marxist and that would be like East Germany. Keywords strictly outside the acceptable spectrum.
Our family income only went up because I picked up two (very) part time jobs lol it’s amazing that that is somehow a sign we’re back to normal in their eyes.
Printing it doesn’t make it true. Smells of propaganda. How many people do you know who got a raise over 7%?
This was for 2023 and the job market was hot that year. If you switched jobs you probably got a double digit pay rise, and many people were doing it. That’s what drove the number.
However, the job market is kinda crashing right now in 2024. So I don’t think it’s a trend that will continue.
Idk how it could. Haven’t tons of companies been announcing layoffs for like tens of thousands of workers for a few years now?
my wages have not kept up with inflation since 2020. I don’t know whos wages have but its not the case for me. granted I wfh now so that is nice buy the most I have made so far is in 2020 in relation to inflation.
I’ve never had a job where my wage kept up with inflation. My annual raise was always below inflation, and I felt lucky to get annual adjustments at all.
I suspect this is simply an artifact of math. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer, and as long as the average of the two looks good then the people in charge can nod their heads, say “good good,” then go spend a week on their yacht.
no idea but its not just me but my locality. I have done better than most. This makes me suspicious any time I see stuff like this.
It’s all averages and statistics can always be spun however you want, but hopefully there’s some truth to it. I don’t even know what “household income” is limited to. If more people are moving in as roommates, for example, that’s not a good thing, but does it raise the household average? I’m too lazy to look it up haha.
Meanwhile prices did not.
Not really. Inflation is an average across the board but a lot of things that were affected by price gouging went up much higher. I’m not sure specifically how it’s all calculated but last time I mathed it out my expenses went up much higher than what inflation said they should have.
Til…
If were true wouldn’t that mean deflation as wages haven’t actually kept up?
Right, it leaves out a significant detail while focusing on the least important part.
No. This is saying that wages have outpaced inflation, which would be disinflation rather than deflation. It’s confusing but they are not actually the same thing even though it sounds like they should be.
No it’s saying some have.
The latest data came Tuesday in an annual report from the Census Bureau, which said the median household income, adjusted for inflation, rose 4% to $80,610 in 2023, up from $77,450 in 2022. It was the first increase since 2019, and is essentially unchanged from that year’s figure of $81,210, officials said. (The median income figure is the point at which half the population is above and half below and is less distorted by extreme incomes than the average.)
It’s not even a good metric to try and say income is getting better
Some have what? I’m not following what you mean.
I do agree its not the greatest metric for a variety of reasons but its still indicative of improvements to the economy. If the opposite was happening it would mean things are getting worse instead of better.
