Most people are focused on trying to hold their jobs... or get a job... or paying the house note and the doctor bill... or where this week’s gas budget will come from... or how much groceries are costing and how the price of everything seems to be rising with each visit to the store. Their savings are smaller and their investments have devalued by 50%. Not only are they paying attention... they are not happy about anything.
LLS
“Their savings are smaller and their investments have devalued by 50%. Not only are they paying attention... they are not happy about anything.”
In general, there’s a lot of fear out there about the sad state of the economy and its effect on personal finances. No question about it. But July and August are big vacation months. The two beach towns we’ve driven to this summer (not the Hamptons or Kiawah) were packed with average folks spending like there was no tomorrow. Maybe there is no tomorrow, but at least for now they’re setting their cares aside and living it up while they can. Come September it will be back to reality for most people. And they will be increasingly unhappy (about the very issues you cite) as the election rapidly approaches.
IMHO there’s a good chance that oil prices will spike — shortly before the election — due to increasing tensions/conflicts in the middle east. This will be a dagger into the heart of our fragile economy. Echoes of Jimmy Carter...