The only people who feel good are making over $200k and have large portfolios

Like everyone else who’s observed a discrepancy between how they’re being told the economy is vs how they’re experiencing it, I’ve had my concerns about how CPI is being measured and how the policy decisions are rolled out. One of the things that’s missing is an indicator that cares only about the essentials that are family use frequently. Like falling prices of flatscreen TVs don’t matter as much if home insurance and car payments are skyrocketing.

I came across the ALICE indicator and it does something close to what I wanted. It tells a very different story of how the economy is doing. https://www.unitedforalice.org/essentials-index

ALICE does a great job, but at the end of the day we need the “official” measures to be updated to reflect boots-on-the-ground reality. As soon as someone tries telling anyone of a certain age demographic that making $150k isn’t enough to support a family in any major metro due to cost of housing alone, and they seem to think you’re just a terrible spender who cannot manage money or make wise investments.

It wasn’t until I quite literally started sharing home listings in my area and budget that my own parents finally understood the bleak reality their kids are struggling with. I suspect that’s something we just need to do more of - shame the $650k fire-destroyed homes on Redfin, the vacant lots valued at a million bucks, the Zoning Board blocking yet another multifamily home, the sickening cost of yogurt at the store ($7.50 for a Chobani four-pack!), six-figure SUVs, and a minimum wage that can’t even make rent.

As my friends tell each other (in a sing-song-y voice): “At least we’ll all find out together.”. Difference is, we all know who will be stuck paying the bill.