Anonymous OP 5d

Ok carry on 👍

5

Anonymous #2 5d

How would we be more prosperous?

1

Anonymous #3 5d

Why not?

0

Anonymous OP 5d

Do you know what a median income figure actually is?

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Anonymous #3 5d

It’s the middle American’s income when the data is sorted in ascending order. 50% of Americans earn less, 50% earn more.

0

Anonymous OP 5d

Median income can hide big differences in cost of living, household size, and local prices, so the same median number can mean very different real purchasing power in different places. It also collapses the whole distribution into one value, so it won’t tell you whether a community has lots of people clustered near the median or a “hollowed-out” middle with many people far below it.

5

Anonymous OP 5d

Spending power depends on what’s left after essentials and obligations (housing, debt, healthcare, taxes), and median income alone doesn’t capture those constraints.

4

Anonymous OP 5d

Imagine a set of 11 earners. 5 earn $20 a year. 5 earn $10B a year. One earns $50k a year. The median is $50k. Imagine a different set of 11. 5 earn $49k. 5 earn $51k. 1 earns 50k. The median is still $50k. Those both represent vastly different scenarios but project the same representative figure. It’s a curated statistic to conceal reality and misrepresent the economic state of the country.

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Anonymous #3 5d

What metric do you prefer?

0

Anonymous OP 5d

Your question highlights the real issue. There isn’t a single metric for it. People want it to be simple because they can’t understand complex things. Disposable income per capita is useful. Real median over time is useful. PCE index is useful. Cost of Living. Regional Price Parity. CPI. Stop looking for one-stop answers because that is surface-level nonsense for surface-level thinkers.

0

Anonymous #3 5d

Two actual quotes from you: “Median income is not a useful figure” “Real median over time is useful” This post was about the real median over time. Is it useful or not? Also, when did I say we should only examine one metric?

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Anonymous #3 5d

Here’s real disposable income per capita over time

-1

Anonymous OP 5d

Median Income and Real Median Income are two different figures. It’s almost like you don’t even understand the most basic terminology related to the concepts you’ve already decided you know everything about. How truly shocking.

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Anonymous OP 5d

It isn’t useful as a standalone metric. That’s what you are doing. Read the words, kid. Read the fucking words.

1

Anonymous OP 5d

And how does real disposable income over time compare to purchasing power over time? You know, it would be a shame if you considered relevant/critical context. Can’t have that. You might actually be forced to connect concepts.

1

Anonymous OP 5d

Lmaoooooo it always starts at 1980

4

Anonymous #3 5d

Do you understand what is implied by “faster than inflation”? Talk about not understanding basic terminology. It’s absolutely useful on its own. Thats not to say that one metric gives you a complete picture, for a full understanding you should look at an array of metrics, but median income still tells you what the “typical” household is actually taking home. Unlike average income, it isn’t pulled upward by a small number of ultra-high earners, so it tracks broad living standards more honestly.

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Anonymous #3 5d

“How does real disposable income over time compare to purchasing power over time?” You can’t be serious lmao.💀I’m going to give you a few minutes for you to tell me the problem with this question.

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Anonymous #4 5d

The rest of the political spectrum is generally able to accept this basic, objective fact.

-2

Anonymous OP 5d

The problem is that you are unequipped for the conversation you started.

1

Anonymous #3 5d

“Real” disposable income is already inflation adjusted, meaning it’s expressed in constant dollars. That adjustment is literally what “purchasing power over time” means. It’s pretty clear you have no idea what you’re talking about.

-1

Anonymous OP 5d

Lmfao, no it isn’t. Inflation is not the only variable for purchasing power.

1

Anonymous #3 5d

A price index is quite literally the only variable used in calculating the purchasing power of a currency over time.

1

Anonymous OP 5d

😂

1

Anonymous OP 5d

Purchasing power is not a standard figure across the entire country, dipshit.

1

Anonymous #3 4d

Your inability to understand context is astounding. You asked how a national time-series statistic compares to purchasing power. Of course it varies by location, but that’s irrelevant to a national conversation. It doesn’t make sense to compare real disposable income per capita nationally with the purchasing power of a dollar in Albuquerque if we’re evaluating the country as a whole.

0

Anonymous OP 4d

Do you know what irony is?

1

Anonymous #3 4d

If only you were as correct as you are cocky.

0

Anonymous OP 4d

If only you understood the concepts even 10% as well as you think you do.

0

Anonymous #3 4d

"How does real disposable income over time compare to purchasing power over time?" 🤣

0

Anonymous OP 4d

Imagine not understanding the difference. 😂

0

Anonymous #3 4d

Holy fuck, you still think that question makes sense? Please tell me more, it’s entertaining to watch you embarrass yourself.

0

Anonymous OP 4d

It’s sad to see how confidently stupid you are, kid. It really is.

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Anonymous #3 4d

It’s telling that you can’t answer with any substance.

0

Anonymous OP 4d

I already have. It isn’t my fault you’re unequipped for the material.

0

Anonymous #3 4d

Says the person who claims that median income is not a useful figure. If you’ve taken an economics course you owe your professor an apology.

0

Anonymous OP 4d

It isn’t a useful figure in isolation. You’re the dumbass who thinks it is. 😂 It’s cute that you think your intro class is really empowering you to understand things. Let me know when you start getting articles published in journals. Protip, though, you’re going to want to be able to understand the things I said before you take on that challenge, though.

0

Anonymous #3 4d

You clearly don’t understand the things you said yourself. If you did, you wouldn’t ask nonsensical questions like "How does real disposable income over time compare to purchasing power over time?" Let’s be clear, your original claim was that it was straight up not a useful figure. You didn’t pivot to the “in isolation” qualifier until I pressed you. Even then you’re still wrong. It won’t give you a complete understanding on its own, but it absolutely communicates important information.

0

Anonymous OP 4d

No.

1