Click to enlarge.
Click to enlarge.
Assuming that we wished to stay on the long-term prosperity trend, the typical family of three is missing about $10,000 per year. Perhaps the next president can cut us all a check (each and every year from here on out).
That's assuming that all the free money won't be inflationary of course. If it is, then the government will need to make the checks bigger to compensate. Gallows Humor Monday has spilled into Tuesday. I thought for sure that it would be contained. Oh well!
Here's an alternate solution. We admit to ourselves that this is yet another long-term exponential trend failure and there is nothing that can be done to "unfail" it. That might be a start.
Nah, that sounds painful and dangerous. Can't have everyone turning as frugal as I am or everything falls apart. Perhaps all we really need is a leader who understands capitalist/socialist utopia theory. Truth be known, I think they all do!
Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Wage and Salary Disbursements
St. Louis Fed: CPI
St. Louis Fed: Population
I think it is worth mentioning that a great deal of the growth in this chart came from women entering the workforce in greater and greater numbers. That trend is over.
ReplyDeleteThis trend breakdown is largely due to boomers exiting the workforce. The downward trend will continue for a decade at least.
ReplyDeleteNice analysis.
If only we could get rid of the minimum wage and child labor law... I think there's a guy running on this idea.
ReplyDelete"...this is yet another long-term exponential trend failure and there is nothing that can be done to "unfail" it...Can't have everyone turning as frugal as I am or everything falls apart."
ReplyDeleteHere's an idea...
People who made their money by taking advantage of the opportunities provided by the capitalist scheme here in America could now return some of that money back into the system by investing in the future of America.
They could start a new video game company and hire programmers for instance.
Now that's what I'd call real prosperity baby!
nanute,
ReplyDeleteIf only we could get rid of the minimum wage and child labor law... I think there's a guy running on this idea.
It is the "Be Like Greece" prosperity platform.
Greece Draft Cuts Minimum Wage 20%
(Gallows Humor Monday has now officially spilled into Wednesday.)
Fritz_O,
ReplyDeleteThey could start a new video game company and hire programmers for instance.
Don't think I haven't thought of it.
There's just one small problem. Roughly 90% of new businesses fail in their early years and yet I need 100% of my nest egg to fuel my retirement. Go figure.
All exponential trends fail sooner or later.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I'm still confident that the Dow can maintain its low term trend and hit 2,000,000 by 2100!
St Louis Fred has the social welfare spending over wages chart that is pushing 25%. . .
ReplyDelete2026 the 80 million boomers will be fully admitted into the retirement club.
Trillion-plus deficits will continue, pushing debt held by public to twenty trillion by then.
Interest burden at 5% would be one trillion. Thus, we will not see 5% interest rates in the 2020s.
End-game will probably be army coup in 2039, right when it's my turn to get my bennies.
Chinese will come and take Hawaii, Alaska as we lose the ability to defend our debtor-in-possession status.
Sent from a whole foods on an iPad from shenzhen.
Parker Bohn,
ReplyDeleteDow 2,000,000 by 2100!
You should put it on a hat and sell it!
That works out to about a 6% annual growth rate. I would not rule it out.
Meanwhile, I should put the following on an inflation adjusted shirt and sell it.
Real Dow 20,000 by 2100!
Hey, we could bundle our two products and sell them in infomercials.
Buy the hat and get the shirt for free!*
*Just pay separate shipping and handling.
(I should probably mention that I don't work cheap. I intend to "handle" the heck out of that shirt, maybe even enough to generate some serious profits, lol.)
Troy,
ReplyDeleteWe need to push the end-game out a bit. 2039 is cutting it a bit close for me. I'll be 74.
I do have one solution I can do at my end. I've never taken up smoking, lol. ;)
"I should put the following on [a T] shirt and sell it."
ReplyDelete"I’m short your house"
Fritz_O,
ReplyDeleteFrom your link...
"It’s juvenile. It’s funny in March of ’06 when everybody calls you Chicken Little. It’s not funny now..."
Surely there is still some humor left.
Gallows Humor
Gallows humor (derived from gallows, a platform with a noose used to execute people by hanging; Galgenhumor in German) is a type of humor that still manages to be funny in the face of, and in response to, a hopeless situation. It arises from stressful, traumatic, or life-threatening situations, often in circumstances such that death is perceived as impending and unavoidable.