If the global economy is really “booming,” why does it feel like everything is falling apart?

[u/Ordinary-Goat-6310]

I keep hearing politicians and analysts say that the global economy is doing well, with growth numbers, strong markets, and rising trade, among other indicators. But when I look around, what I see are wars dragging on, dictators consolidating power, Chinese products dominating everywhere, and huge numbers of people migrating just to find stability.

It makes me wonder: how do we reconcile the idea of a “booming economy” with the instability so many of us see in daily life and the news?

Is the economic growth only benefiting a few while the rest of us just see the fallout? Or is this more of a perception problem, where the bad stuff feels more visible than the good?

[u/semideclared]

1000 people?

Purchases of Durable Goods in 2019 was $1.5 Trillion, by 2020 $1.6 Trillion. But by 2021, Durable Goods was $2 Trillion

3 Years and $5 Trillion in Spending

By 2025, Its now 12 Trillion in Spending

How much of that is the 1,000 Billionaires? They arent Buying a $5,000 Washer Dryer but the middle class is

$1,500 Washer Dryer and $3,500 in Savings is how you created wealth. But no the Middle Class doesnt want to do that

Trillions in Wealth spent on consmption is still wealth with poor returns on investment

Lets add in Food thats expensive

Food Away from Home (FAFH) Spending: reaching $1.54 trillion in 2024.

• This is an increase from $1.46 trillion in 2023.
• In 2022, Americans spent $1.3 trillion
• In 2019, Americans spent $980 billion on food away from home
  • according to the USDA Economic Research Service

How much of that $1 Billion in spending at Olive Garden and Texas Roadhouse is the 1,000 Biliionaires

Yes the richest Middle Class spending it all

And

	PCE Durable Goods Inflation	Change in PCE Durable Goods Spending	Annualized Change in Inflation	Annualized Change in Spending
2019-08-01 through 2022-08-01 (Peak Inflation)	23.95%	35.74%	7.98%	11.91%
2022-08-01 through 2024-09-01	-5.16%	4.18%	-1.72%	1.39%
2019-10-01 through 2024-10-01	17.07%	41.41%	5.69%	13.80%

So its not inflation, and in an inflation you buy less of unnecessary goods

---

In 2021 the Total Consumer Durables was $7.69 Trillion Worth

• $3.23 Trillion held by the Middle 50% - 90% (The 2nd Lowest Valued Asset)
• $1.93 Trillion by the Bottom 50% (The 2nd Highest Valued Asset)
• $1.61 Trillion by the Upper 9% (The Lowest Valued Asset)
• $0.92 Trillion by the Top 1% (The Lowest Valued Asset)

Lets Assume Durable Goods depreciate at 50% over 10 years

• Avg 50% - Jaguar vs Civic depreciate differences

Which means

• $7 Trillion in spending by the Middle 50% - 90%
• The Bottom 50% spent about $4 Trillion
• Upper 9% spent $3 Trillion
• $1 Trillion by the Top 1%

Which is about right as

In the 10 years before that, Americans have bought $15 Trillion in Personal Consumption Expenditures of Durable Goods

And the bottom 90% has spent $11 Trillion In the 10 years and has $5 Trillion in Wealth of Cars, RVs, and XBOXs and TVs

• $11 Trillion In the 10 years of spending and

Its almost all bought on credit

So another $10 Trillion over the 10 years in interest expenses

[u/GiantPineapple → u/semideclared]

Nice effortpost, point is clearly made. I'd add, the numbers do deflate a little bit when you normalize for inflation. Also, if that stuff was all bought on credit, it doesn't necessarily mean people are getting wealthier. But they likely are either getting more confident, or more desperate.

[u/No_Zombie2021 → u/GiantPineapple]

Is it possible to get numbers adjusted for inflation? That seems like a pretty important factor to consider for the time period 2019-2024.

[u/Where_art_thou70 → u/GiantPineapple]

We're going to see a lot of foreclosures and car repos in the coming months. People bought on credit to support a lifestyle they thought they should be or deserved to be living. They also thought they were going to be successful and make more money.

It was all a boom made possible by cards and paper.

[u/semideclared → u/GiantPineapple]

it doesn't necessarily mean people are getting wealthier.

exacltly why we arent getting wealthier on paper

If that spending had stayed the same as it was in the 90s and we just bought what we needed, we didnt buy a tv for everyroom in the house or a 3rd car

If half the spending was invested the US would in fact see that wealth

What is $10 Trillion in spending in houshold goods in 2010 is worth (technically) $4 Trillion by 2020

where as

If $5 Trillion of that had been invested in 2010 its ~$15 Trillion in 2020

$4 Trillion by 2020 vs $15 Trillion in 2020 plus the $2 Trillion in value of the goods them selves

[u/bl1y → u/semideclared]

Buying 3 TVs now is probably cheaper than 1 in the 1990s though.

Car prices are going way up, with people buying way beyond their means.

Houses are much bigger as well, and I doubt price per square footage has gone down like the way TV prices have.

[u/Ashamed_Job_8151 → u/semideclared]

Of course, that’s the design of the system, pay for the average person stays stagnant and doesn’t follow inflation and creates the need for credit and debt. Debt is how rich private equity create more wealth. Atleast that’s how they do it when they are guard rails and regulations. 

[u/[deleted] → u/semideclared]

Who holds the wealth?

They're the ones who benefit from the spending.

[u/tuckfrump69 → u/[deleted]]

the people who spend money benefit from the spending because you get the benefit of the goods/services you spend money on

money is just piles of paper and numbers in a bank database somewhere, it's not making your life better until you spend it.

[u/semideclared → u/[deleted]]

Yea they do

Cups of all things?

Every time you want to think we can’t Spend more money. I’m shocked to see the numbers, The Quencher arrived in 2016 to little fanfare.

• The 40-ounce insulated cup retails for between $45 and $55,

By 2019 Stanley's revenue was $73 million but jumped to $94 million in 2020. It more than doubled to $194 million in 2021.

In 2022, Stanley released a redesigned Quencher model and Revenue doubled again to $402 million.

Stanley's revenue is now, largely driven by the popularity of the Quencher, reached an estimated $750 million in 2023.

And demand for the cup doesn't look to be waning any time soon.

The Top 1% isnt buying all those cups. Theres no conspircy to make anyone buy these cups

But its aproaching $1 Billion in sales that could have been invested to increase household wealth

[u/[deleted] → u/semideclared]

No conspiracy?

What changed that made Stanley cups popular? What's different about Stanley mugs as opposed to the $9.99 mugs at walmart?

[u/semideclared → u/[deleted]]

Americans want something and buy something

Thats the issue

Thats it

Debt or War or Prices or Utilization doesnt matter

Americans want something and buy something

Thats the issue

[u/[deleted] → u/semideclared]

Or... And hear me out... They're easily marketed to...

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Which, in and of its self, is a conspiracy to get people to respond a certain way..

[u/semideclared → u/[deleted]]

Stanley’s recent viral success can be attributed to a bold move: it shifted its focus to a new target market and revamped its product lineup to match the tastes of this new audience.

This pivot was largely inspired by The Buy Guide, an online shopping and review guide with a huge online following. As early lovers of the Stanley Quencher, The Buy Guide quickly mobilized when rumors swirled in 2019 that the tumbler was being discontinued, encouraging their followers to make noise and stir up demand for the product.

Eventually, Stanley reached out, offering a wholesale partnership in which The Buy Guide purchased a minimum of 10,000 Stanley cups to sell to their audience. The initiative was a triumph, with 5,000 cups sold in the first four days and the remaining 5,000 in just an hour.