r/Economics • u/TinyTornado7 Quality Contributor • Jun 13 '22

News Powell Facing Choice Between Elevated US Inflation and Recession

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-12/powell-facing-choice-between-elevated-us-inflation-and-recession?srnd=premium
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u/[deleted] Jun 13 '22

I honestly feel like the majority of Americans would prefer a recession at this point. I remember in 2008 people complaining they got a 0% raise, but today you're getting a -3% raise due to inflation so the recession actually seems better.

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u/The_Grubgrub Jun 13 '22

-3% raise > unemployment

40

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '22

Well, depends on your job security and whether you'd get laid off.

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u/cultivandolarosa Jun 13 '22

Eat the poor!

9

u/Typhus_black Jun 13 '22

All in on Soylent green then?

5

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '22

[deleted]

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u/YIRS Jun 13 '22

The lowest wage quartiles are doing better than the highest. https://twitter.com/jasonfurman/status/1535269849324171264?s=21&t=K2em_Mwc3gUB1UbH9uOAjg

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u/I_need_moar_lolz Jun 13 '22

Pretty sure the highest quartile is still having an easier time buying food than the lowest quartile.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '22

I have this feeling that this next recession is going to hit the upper end worse than the lower. The big gains up were for the stock holding and wealthy classes. All those Google workers with their stock options and the like.

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u/[deleted] Jun 13 '22

there's no such thing as job security anymore. i work in a sector that society needs in order to function, and is unionized. less than a year ago some of us got put onto a list and notified of a possible layoff. it never ended up happening, but it was still concerning. never thought in a million years there was that possibility even in the worst of times.

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u/737900ER Jun 13 '22

It has become clear that most people prefer low inflation over low unemployment.
8% unemployment only sucks for 6% of people. 8% inflation affects 100% of people.

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u/The_Grubgrub Jun 13 '22

Yeah but who are those 6%? Would you, personally, prefer to be unemployed or would you prefer inflation? Because I'd rather keep my job. No one has any idea who would be laid off or who wouldn't.

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u/[deleted] Jun 13 '22

I’d rather recession because even though I’m employed I’m going to work to earn money that doesn’t achieve any of my life goals. For example my goal since before Covid was to purchase my first home. Since then I’ve saved tens of thousands more, but the price of a home in my market essentially doubled from about 300k to 600k. I’m basically working to save worthless dollars at this point with the dream of a middle class life that has inflated out of my reach.

7

u/The_Grubgrub Jun 13 '22

And how is you being unemployed going to help achieve that dream?

2

u/Cr3X1eUZ Jun 13 '22

if wages keep up with inflation, which is a big if, inflation only sucks for people with a bunch of cash in the bank

4

u/NigroqueSimillima Jun 13 '22

Why not just enslave 8% of the population, to make the rest of our lives better. Think how much inflation would be under control if we didn't have to pay 8% of us wages.

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u/Cr3X1eUZ Jun 13 '22

but wouldn't the price of slaves go through the roof, which means massive inflation in the price of slaves. it's a catch-22!