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Yeah, I didn't like the old mortgage rates (when they were 12-18%) but I did like the savings rates (when they were above 5%). They aren't two sides of the same coin, any more than "inflation" can be described as good or bad using limited metrics. IMO all economics are relative and contextual. And I'm pretty sure that academic economists haven't kept pace with political economists, and neither have measured consumer economics very well. There's a pretty big divide between theories, measurements, and actualization.
Even though our GDP is above 2% (consistently higher than most developed nations), our national unemployment rate is under 5% (considered "full employment"), job creation has grown every month for several quarters/years, our federal debt/deficit has been shrinking, our dollar is strong, and "the markets" are at all time highs......there's still the gnawing problem of income inequality, where the majority of growth only benefits the top 10%, and doesn't trickle down to everyone else.
But don't forget that our housing industry hasn't fully recovered from the CDO/MBS/Credit Default Swap debacle, or that health insurance is still unaffordable for most people without gov't subsidies (aka Obamacare), or that fuel prices are still manipulated by OPEC, or that commodity prices (food) are inflating, or blah blah blah.
Yeah, I can see how "monetizing debt" has had negative impacts on millions of people. It's part of the globalization and AI/automation era that's left millions of people behind.....and ultimately led to a President Trump "frontier". Yay?
I don't even know how to respond to this. As Dread confirms, they are indeed two sides of the same coin (though with modern banking, the spread between consumer credit/mortgages and savings rates is actually quite a bit smaller), but for the rest, I don't really get what your (wandering) point is. Yes, life is tough nowadays. No, I'm not convinced it is much harder than it was in the past.
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Originally Posted by
GGT
Put another way....for those who believe that "capitalism" and "free markets" is the best way to go: how else would you convince people (voters) to do away with Social Security contributions.....if they can't get the same results on their own, by simply making savings deposits, or buying t-bills, that get around the same return (5% or more) than playing the stock market does?
You can't blame folks for not wanting the rug to be pulled out from under their feet. But that's what "saving" has become--because there's no profit in it. Instead, the only way to "get ahead" is to borrow, get credit, and a credit rating, and pay the bank for the privilege of using your own money on their time. It's a crap game, playing craps.
No one has suggested getting rid of Social Security contributions; it's one of the most beloved government programs. And the way to get ahead is to get educated, work hard and earn well, budget carefully, save diligently and invest one's savings. Pretty much how it has always worked.