Consumer sentiment is in the dumps despite a solid economy. Goldman Sachs blames ‘lower happiness’

“Solid economy” 😂

Diesel hit record rates and these guys are claiming it's about the vibes?

Whenever they talk about "the economy", they're talking about the economy for rich people. Not for you.

Perhaps rich people yacht money isn't indicative of how well the average citizen is doing?

I visited a flea market today - a big one in my region - for the first time in a very long time. To my horror, it was 50% TEMU trash - all sales final. It was selling. It made me really, really sad. People buying cheap shit online, marking it up, and selling it to their neighbors. Maybe there is some not-garbage in there but a huge portion of it is just going to fail and end up in a landfill in a year... and this is becoming normal for these people. Things just wear out rapidly and get thrown away and they buy a replacement.

We're killing each other and destroying ecosystems and the climate... so that we can make... this. We're fucked.

Dateline 1860: Slave Sentiment Low Despite Record Plantation Profits — Economists Baffled

Good. Withhold on buying new applicances, or any non-essential purchases. Don’t buy cars. Don’t eat out. Buy and prepare foods and refrain from sweets, bagged and boxed goods. When you can walk, use a bike or just stay home if you don’t need to go to work or run essential errands. Don’t take trips abroad or fly. Refrain from all social media use that pushes ad traffic when possible.

Tips: A lot of ethnic stores, like Indian markets, sell big bags of things like legumes, rice and various flours that are dirt cheap. Hell, eat vegan. Fuck livestock farmers. You’ll do good for the animals and the planet.

Focus on the things that really matter in life - each other. Make friends spend time with family. Break free from the need for consumeristic, material bullshit. I’m seriously contemplating giving up my mobile device and reverting back to a flip phone. Join clubs, study things, acquire new skills. Enrich your like instead of doping yourself up on technology. If you use technology, use it to learn things, not just a 24/7 stream of shit news. Go to bed on time and get some sleep.

Even if you can’t directly participate due to being imprisoned by a capitalistic grind (which we could actually break free from at any time, it just takes all of us at once to not comply, eg not working , paying bills, squatting in our living spaces), donate money to action networks like the DSA.

Let all of this BS collapse in on itself. Deliberately crash the economy. Twist the arm of the capital class. The only way they’ll surrender is if you run the value of their stolen assets into the dirt. It’s either that or violent overthrow.

Look at this way. We’re all going to be living in a third world anyway, where they’d prefer we die. Do it before they extract any more wealth from us and complete their mission. They’re counting on us to comply.

To be sure, Briggs said inflationary pressures are likely also hurting confidence. But he said “lower happiness” at large can partially explain the continued disconnect between sentiment and other measures of the economy’s performance, such as gross domestic product growth or stock market performance, that offer rosier views.

It's almost shocking how out of touch they are. The wealthiest 10% of Americans own 93% of stocks according to a 2024 article.

Briggs also cited a connection between lower overall happiness readings and decreasing trust in institutions. He found that lower trust in these bodies caused a “disproportionate amount” of the decline in net happiness in recent years.

Given the connection to non-economic variables, consumer sentiment readings may not improve even if the economy continues chugging along, Briggs said. As a result, consumer sentiment may become a less useful predictor of economic dynamics, he said.

It's like a parody, or something the onion would write. Economists aren't serious people.

Any metric in which Economy Strength isn't directly correlated to livelihood, success, and happiness is a bullshit metric.

Nobody can afford anything they want because they have to spend all their money on necessities. But by god ✨ the economy ✨ sure is looking good, so what's the problem???

Solid economy? WTF are they smoking? Shit has never been more expensive.

The economy is solid, because the people only get paid 40% of their productivity. The rest goes to the rich, and they are "the economy".

In other words, the term "the economy" actually means "rich people's yachts".

It’s solid if you’re a billionaire

"lower happiness" is a symptom, not a cause.

I don't understand why people think the stock market is the golden child for wether an economy is doing well.

You know how the stock market does well? By companies making money. Do you know how companies make money?

By ripping off the common man and jacking prices up until you can just barely afford stuff.

By suppressing your wages and screwing you over every way they can to save a dime.

By breaking the laws and polluting the environment so you get sick and feel unhealthy and then your tax dollars need to go towards cleaning up after their mess.

That's what a "good economy" is according to these people.

My decline in happiness comes partially from the fact that these consultant fucks got paid $300k to send the report that said this.

"The citizens we are bleeding dry for grossly huge profits are not happy", said a befuddled collective of CEO's. "What are we doing wrong?". A green acolyte mewled, "What if we gave ourselves bigger bonuses?" and he was immediately made King of the CEO's for his originality. /s

Guys, I don't even know what to say anymore. So much of this shit isn't worthy of being dignified as based in reality.

I'm really, really, super fucking really tired of just reading and arguing. I'm tired of years of regression being sold to us as progress that we're just too simple to understand the realities of.

I want class solidarity with my fellow humans who feel the same way. I want to take actions that will actually change things or at least stand a chance or even just get people talking more.

Lemmy is fantastic, it's doing what it set out to achieve, I would say. But I want to start thinking about something more, and I nor any of us can do that alone.

Perhaps a group chat? Signal or SimpleX?

One person is enough for me to start it.

Class solidarity. Power to the people. Representative government. Social safety nets. Corporate reform.

Thank God these monsters aren't in charge of our economy!

Oh wait, sorry, I had a seizure. Excuse me. Everybody knows that members of The Fed work for Goldman Sachs! I feel so dumb.

(... and JP Morgan and so on. They are in charge of our economy)

I ain't buying shit. Glad to be part of the problem.

So none of these guys listen to trump speak???

It's not hard to locate the source of the unhappiness.

I'm imagining the guy staring at his bank account wondering "how could people be upset about this?"

Consumer sentiment is down but it's just because people are losing trust the system that is economically rigged against them, that's all.

Soon there will be a critical mass of people who have nothing left to lose

damn, they fuck you then call you 'bottom'!

@Sunflier it’s not peoples happiness level, it’s the fact that people are only spending on necessities. Nobody is running out to put $2000 on a credit card for a foldable iPhone.
The money isn’t there or quite possibly won’t be there going forward.
Folks are embracing a simpler more affordable life either by choice or circumstance.

Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.

Solid economy? No it isn't. Its nothing but doubt and price gouging.

Let them eat cake.

I blame Goldman "Ball" Sachs as well. He's part of the problem.

No one but the 1% cares about the fucking "economy"

The economy isn’t just the ponzi stock market.