IncomeInequality #jobs #recession #incomes
Despite strong job growth, Metro Atlanta incomes have faltered since 2007.
So writes Michael E. Kanell, business and economics reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. His article on the matter appeared March 25, 2019.
“At the same time, racial inequality remained stubbornly high, even as the economy rebounded from the Great Recession,” Kanell writes.
The Atlanta region ranks 33rd in the country in economic growth, and 57th for inclusion by race, the article states.
Though Kanell covers the Atlanta area, the same thing likely can be applied elsewhere.
As a person, economically and otherwise, are you better off than you were 11 years ago? Have you been able to hold on to that good job you had back then? Has your employer downsized, leaving you out to find other work? Does the other work you may – or may not – have found pay as well as the previous job? Have you been forced to retire long before you wanted to ? Do you have enough saved for retirement to make it at all comfortable?
These and any number of questions can be posed today after a decade recovering from the Great Recession.
Some folks may have lucked out and found better economic circumstances. But many have not. Yes, the economy is growing. But if your individual economy has not grown, in fact has shrunk, you are not alone.
So, if you are in that situation, what can you do?
Fortunately, there are solutions out there, other than trying to juggle multiple, low-paying and time-consuming jobs. There are vehicles out there that potentially can enable you not only to recover economically, but prosper – perhaps as you never have before. To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
You can sit around, fret and complain about your situation, or you can do something about it. Don’t expect some serendipitous event to come along to pull you out of your economic funk. Don’t expect a winning lottery ticket to solve your problem.
But you could be open to doing something you perhaps thought you would never do. It may take you out of your comfort zone, but if you’ve had to downsize your economic outlook, that can’t be really comfortable.
Kanell’s article says economically the best-performing regions, according to the Brookings Institution, are: Austin, Texas; San Antonio; San Jose, Calif.; and Dallas.
If you don’t live in one of those areas, or even if you do, you may not have benefitted individually from the nationwide economic growth.
Don’t look at the well-to-do with envy. Look at them as inspiration. You potentially could be among them if you are willing to look at programs that, starting with a part-time effort by you, could yield a pot of gold for you over time.
Times were tough a decade ago. Companies are still downsizing. Manufacturing plants are closing, or becoming more automated.
You can worry about it, or do something about it. It’s your choice.
Peter
Tag Archives: incomes
WHOM DO YOU TRUST?
#trust #retirement #saving
America has an issue with trust, and it’s getting worse.
So said a headline in the Feb. 14, 2016, edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The headline was over an article by Gail MarksJarvis, personal finance columnist with The Chicago Tribune, and author of “Saving for Retirement Without Living Like a Pauper or Winning the Lottery.”
MarksJarvis wrote about Richard Edelman, president of the Edelmen public relations firm. He spoke to a group of CEOs about trust, and why fewer and fewer people are trusting big institutions, be they government, corporations or other large entities.
“Economists have been troubled throughout the recovery (from the 2008 economic collapse) that even though incomes were slowly rising and households should have more pocket money now that gas prices are low, spending hasn’t followed the expected trend. Consumers are increasing their saving and being careful about spending,” MarksJarvis writes.
Of course, the CEOS want to know about this because they want to sell more of their products and services. They want to know how to get people to part with more of their purses’ contents.
Remember, a few years before the collapse, we were told that people weren’t saving enough? After the collapse, for many, saving became even more difficult, so we still have a real problem with people not having nearly enough put away for retirement, or even enough for emergency expenses that are crucial to life.
Now that some of those folks are “recovering,” they are beginning to save more. This has to be good for most of us, albeit not so good for businesses.
Who would have thought that the big drop in gasoline prices would have Wall Street in a tailspin? Turns out that companies who went out looking for new sources of oil, natural gas etc., borrowed lots of money to do it. Now, as oil prices have sunk, these companies are having difficulty paying their debts back. That’s having an effect throughout the economy.
Through all this, it seems, Americans have become jaded and have no faith that the institutions of community are looking out for them. It’s certainly OK to be skeptical, but when skepticism turns to cynicism, everyone, eventually, gets hurt.
The lesson here is to look for people and institutions you feel you can trust, and work with them. Continue to spend carefully, and save aggressively. Also know that no matter how much money a corporation makes or saves, your job, if you have one, could still be in peril.
If you are scared, or angry, at what you see happening in the country or around the world, take a breath. Americans still have a great capacity for turning miserable circumstances into wonderful success. If you’d like to be part of that turnaround, and see yourself as success waiting to happen, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau. You’ll find stories of people from all walks of life who have turned their difficult circumstances into powerful success.
As the title of MarksJarvis’ book suggests, you CAN save for retirement without impoverishing yourself or winning the lottery. It takes discipline and careful spending – things Americans seem to be doing.
Sometimes one has to look hard to find someone, or some institution, he or she can trust to look out for him or her. They are out there, but one has to keep looking and not get discouraged.
Peter