More Americans 'thriving' than 'struggling'
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
More Americans say they're thriving than struggling for the first time since February 2008. A Gallup poll found that in April, 50 percent of Americans said they were thriving and 47 percent said they were struggling.
Ever since last spring, the opposite had been the case, with more people struggling, and that trend only got worse as the financial crisis affected more people. The percentage of Americans thriving hit a low of 37 percent last November.
Gallup says that the percentage of Americans who are thriving seems to increase in relation to those who say their standard of living is getting better. April was also the first month since last summer that the percentage of Americans who thought their standard of living was improving topped those who thought it was getting worse.
If people's attitudes about the economy and their personal financial situation continue to improve, these things could be a leading indicator that Americans are mentally bouncing back from the shock of the recession.
And if that happens, it could possibly lead to a turnaround in consumer spending - something that business owners across the country have been waiting for and something that has to happen in order for the economy to turn around.
Here's my question to you: What does it mean if more Americans are "thriving" than "struggling" for the first time in more than a year?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
W. writes:
Everyone I know is struggling, and as I see it, there is no end in sight. The government is looking for ways to keep taxing us, and just yesterday the Senate shot down a bill to cap credit card rates. So basically, the middle class is still being sucked dry.
B. writes:
I don't know about anyone else, but here we’re struggling – unless that $250 check I got was supposed to put me in the thriving class. If that’s the case, then I guess I'm thriving. I have a feeling more people will be saying struggling when the car companies are done closing all these dealerships.
Karl from San Francisco writes:
It means we are getting past the Bush depression and the Obama plan is working. This is as much a mental attitude adjustment as it is a financial one. We are now full of hope and the reality of it is coming true. It can only get better.
Dick from Horn Lake, Mississippi writes:
It means the Obama spin machine has made silk purses out of pigs' ears. The liberals won, but they had to destroy the economy to do it. Moveon.org, George Soros, the unions and ACORN will now put their massive propaganda machinery to work telling us we have never had it so good. If you need the map, look at Hugo Chavez.
Art writes:
While it is just a number and today we're searching for numbers that make us happy, it is a number that may make us want to spend money again. We need confidence, nothing more.
Mark from Oklahoma City writes:
It means that the Post Office is delivering stimulus checks on time.
Roman from Butler, Pennsylvania writes:
I'm not exactly thriving. I'd say more like struggling. I want to know who's being asked these questions, because they're not talking to me. Ha.
@jackcafferty on Twitter
I'm not sure where they get their numbers, unless they consider "thriving" as getting by and working two or three jobs. My husband and I are "thriving" too. We make a combined income of $110,000.00 owe very little credit card debt, pay all of our bills, buy food, daycare, our house payment and car payments (used cars, not new) and get to take the kids to McDonalds on Saturday with the extra money. I think by "thriving" they mean "getting by....barely".
Jack as always, some people in our society struggle more than others, even in this situation. It still hasn't gotten so bad that the ultra rich know anything about what's going on and may not get that bad. As I heard the other night on some news show, the multi-billionaires have suffered and now are JUST billionaires. Can you imagine the average person JUST having a billion dollars or even a million for that matter. This country has always had a gigantic class system or divide between the classes and the lower people on the totum pole will undoubtedly suffer more than the rest. It is right? No! But it's the way our capitalist system works.
It means somebody's lying....
It means that your data is completely wrong, Jack.
If you're not growing, you're dying, so there's still a ways to go. But I doubt it will take any more drastic action to get there, not that they won't try.
It does not mean much because the unemployment rate is high, foreclosure is high, and we are in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. But it is a good sign though that with a new president and new year confidence is starting to be restored to the american people.
I think that people today who are considered in the middle income class are either surviving or struggling. Those who are not in debt to their eyeballs are surviving. Those who are in debt are struggling. Perhaps there are people who are still making millions per annum are thriving but precious few compared to the middle class incomes. Your question might have been .... MORE MIDDLE CLASS AMERICANS THRIVING THAN STRUGGLING ....then you would have had something to measure.
That the Obama tax increases haven't been implemented yet. Just wait a few years when our pockets will be picked to pay for all the outrageous spending that is going on now.
Means that we elected a president who actually gives a damn for his fellow Americans and is willing to go the extra step to give them a hand.
It means that we're finally seeing the bottom of the disaster that Bush created and it means that the majority of Americans who voted for President Obama were pretty damn smart! We still have a long way to go, but I do see an end to this recession. Can you imagine where we'd be right now if McCain had won? It's too scary to even think about!
It means that the economy isn't in a freefall anymore and people have more hope for the present and future. It also means that the Republican Party will howl even louder about everything under the sun while the Democrats will rush forward on more ways to spend money on the country. Managing the economy is a double edged sword. Democrats carelessly wave that sword around attacking the problems of the country, but they risk cutting themselves and the country with every swing. Republicans are too afraid to attack problems for fear of getting cut and hope that the problems will just go away on their own.
When I stop struggling and have the time, I'll get back to you.
It means one of two things. Either we are now seeing the early signs of a turnaround in the economy or many Americans are taking advantage of thier fellow Americans that are still hurting. I hope my first statement is true and my latter false.
Prolly that this crisis finally convinced americans to cut their debt, slow their spending of misc junk, and entertainment, gas wasting, etc. for the first time in decades.
Otherwise, theres no other good reason since theres more unemployed everyday than the previous day for many months, and
so many who depended on investments had lost so much value, they have little extra to spend right now and are 'hunkered down' waiting for the economy to rebound.
It means that they are working harder than ever while our do nothing congress pounds them into the ground.Making easy money for ALL
except the people.And to this day Wall Street walked off with ALL the profits and the people took ALL the losses and lost their job and lost their houses and yet the money keeps flowing to pork and the good ole boys.I am so proud of the American people for living through this mess that the blind SEC created.
David
What does it mean if more Americans are “thriving” than “struggling” for the first time in more than a year?
Whose thriving? Those that got a bailout? I'm not thriving, nor are my children or our peers. We are all barely holding on!
Jenna
Roseville CA
Everyone I know is struggling and as I see it, there is no end in sight. The government is looking for ways to keep taxing us, and just yesterday the Senate shot down a bill to cap credit card rates. So basically, the middle class is still being sucked dry.
If more people are striving instead of struggling I want to move wherever they are. The ones striving that is. Around here all us citizens are in the bailing out the boat crew and we are just ahead of sinking.
I would call it a big cover-up. Lets be honest OK? Are there any new jobs?. NO
Auto industry in bankrupcy? YES Auto parts industry closing down?YES. Millions of people applying for Government Benefits? YES. So Jack, What if your question should be written the other way around?
YES!!!!!!!!!!!
That the Obama administration is doing the right things and putting money in the right places, not just in the pockets of the already wealthy like Paulson and the Repuclicans did.
Most Amerians are thriving more so than struggling because they stamped down on spending for only essentials not desires. Restrained gratification has been at work profoundly during the last year.
Really what city , Town do they live in. And are you sure they not the rich sabotaging you survey.
It means that the Post Office is delivering stimulus checks on time.
Jack,
I hope it means things are looking up for Americans. We are making a comeback and it is great. I know we have a long way to go but thriving is a good start.
It most likely means that this assertion is wrong: Dead wrong. It is certainly wrong about me, and most of the people I know and see.
It means, George W. Bush is in Texas.
It means that the people in Michigan werent asked. Those who are struggling, unemployed or homeless can't afford telephones.
If you ask me ,they are cheating someone, if they are thriving.Because everyone I talk to is hurting.Where are these "thriving Americans" and who have they screwed today.
Did you say "thriving" or "surviving?"
Ed Reed
Shanty Town, TX
This requires one to put on hip boots. It means somebody is full of you know what to say more Americans are thriving. Over six hundred are laid off a month, that would mean six hundred thousenda month are doing better. No new jobs for millions of workers, only layoffs means depression is in our future. Forget the hip boots, this needs one of those Hazmat suits.
Jack, it means nothing. Think about it. The unemployment rate is only 9%, which means 91% OF THOSE THAT WANT TO WORK ARE WORKING. More people have been thriving than struggling all along. The panic is all about GOVERNMENT funding going down past the spending projections because our Congress CANNOT spend to their budget and they are panicing. The 91% of us who are thriving, don't have a worry in the world right now because we know we have to plan and execute a budget that is within our income. Once again, this is all about a minority of the country's people who expect the government to bail them out of their problems.
Lance, Ridgecrest, Ca
Well, I hope it means things are getting better. But I suspect that it means some people are taking advantage of others.
Where? I want to move there.
Jack,
In my opinion, most people are struggling in this Bush and Cheney run down economy.
We've learned our lesson. Stop going to college. Stop trying to buy health insurance. Stop driving. Stop heating our homes. See how easy that was? All we have to do is lower our standard of living and we're back in the pink.
If true it is good news , perhaps for more than one reason. The first reason could be that recovery has begun, even if it is spotty. The second may be because more people have learned to better live within their means and now accept the truth that more stuff is not the key to happiness. Lets hope it is for both reasons.
Chatham, VA
It says that we are stabilizing the economy and people who have not been at risk are able to do better than they have before because of things like low interets rates, fire-sales on houses and cars.
Moreover, it probably says that confidence goes a long way to assuaging people's fears. 8.5% unemployment isn;t good, particulalry for th unemployed. But the good news about 8.5% unemployment is that 91.5% of the workforce have jobs, compared to about 96% at "full employment." A whole lot of people are doing just fine.
I don't believe it for a second. The people I know struggle every single day just to pay last months heating bill. Thriving, that sounds like a sad, sick joke to me.
John
Anderson, Indiana
I just don't see it around me.
Not myself, not my friends or associates.
I would question the methodology of that sample.
I think the large, silent majority are "getting along just fine," neither struggling nor thriving. We hear little about or from them, but they are the more typical situation. Overall, it means we will survive these times and prosper again, with less excess and more stability.
It means that they have adapted to the struggling economy. – less luxuries, more necessities.
It would be nice if it were true but it sounds like spin to me. John St Marts Pa.
People want to live the American dream but in order for them to do this they have live on credit.
Now credit is likely flowing a little more freely people are likely using it to enhance their life styles and the cycle begins all over again.
It means the pollsters have been interviewing the wrong people.
If the glass is half empty it means there are fewer of us left around struggling than this time last year.
If the glass is half full it means more people have moved from the "struggling" to "thriving" group.
It simply means the Republicans have been out of power for almost a year which lifts a tremeandous weight off the average American's shoulders.
it means more people have learned how to steal, use all of thei "hook ups" and to short change the goverment. in the end it's still a struggle.Someone pulled a SNUGGLES on y'all
It means that the economy is still in deep trouble. What we can't lose sight of is that this is one America, and to have that means everyone is included. I don't think our forefathers ever intended for some should be thriving, while the rest are struggling, and even if it had there is a GREATER meaning; that we are all brothers, and should treat each as so.
"What does it mean if more Americans are “thriving” than “struggling” for the first time in more than a year?" !!!
What the hell does that even mean?
Americans have lost their jobs. The auto industry is shutting down...
need I go On? If thriving means that they haven't resorted to suicide or robbery, then it means that Americans are still holding on to some hope. But, that hope is not now part of the economic reality.
Yeah! We're thriving alright, on macaroni and cheese. Tell the people whose homes are being forclosed on, that more Americans are thriving. Wait till the cost of fuel goes up again. We are in the eye of the economic storm.
Jack, you have to stop spreading these wild rumors.
Takes 5-to-6 months for an economic stimulus to hit and affect the economy, we are 3 months in and things well gradually get better, but we need further stimulus effect of that whopper budget the President wants. We eventually need anti-trust laws to bust up the banks into smaller regional units. The banks have too much power and big means corruption. Ralph, Yakima, Wa., MBA
Those are subjective terms and who says more Americans are "thriving"? That is not my experience nor the experience of my mother, my aunt, my brother, my niece, or my boyfriend.
It's nothing compared to the 30's Depression. The biggest problem is the Nation got deregulated into doing it again. Today there are tens of thousands more millionaires, lobbyists and special interests. They have no concept, recognition or acknowledegment of real hardship. That will make it especially more difficult to put in place rules and regulations that limits the practice of greed.
It means that they probably didn't take their survey in my neck of the woods. It is still pretty bleak here, but people do have an upbreat attitude for the future.
I'd say it is a very good sign.
Its means the economy is THRIVING, there is no Recession, there really isn't 10 million jobless Americans collecting Unemployment Benefits, its means the stats on last weeks unemployment claims of 637.000 isn't true. In other words Jack, the country is NOT thriving but trying to survive this economic train wreck until the wreckage is removed and the train is moving UPWARDS again. I don't know anyone who is thriving, I'm been unemployed for 11mos.
Jack, it means to me that the administration's economic sales pitch has been very effective, because other than DOW numbers, all other economic indicators have us in much worst shape than we were only months ago.
I have yet to meet someone in that "50%" group of Americans.
Maybe they are getting their act together and realizing that life is what we make it. No use giving up. Just keep on plugging away and enjoy what life offers us.
It means they didn't ask anyone in the tent cities or the people who had to drop their phone lines because of the cost to keep them. We're still heading for double digit unemployment, so I don't take too much stock in this poll.
That they got a job overseas? Won the LOTTO? Are members of Congress? Or perhaps the question is not a valid one.
Thom Richer
Negaunee, MI
It means Republicans sponsored the study.
Jack: To start, it means that people are feeling hopeful. We have a dynamic new president and citizens are rallying around him. As an aside, people also just go their tax reutrns and the price of gas was probably still under $2.00 a gallon when the poll was taken. I hope that this thinking sustains itself. With the unemployment rate edging to 10%+ it may be tough. Notwithstanding: Hope springs eternal!
It means we're starting to recover whether the Republicans want us to believe it or not.
I believe the primary reason more Americans say they are "thriving" than say they are "struggling" is directly due to the decrease in gasoline prices to a somewhat realistic level. Let the Big Oil corporations succeed in greedily inflating gas prices again, as they did in 2008, and you will see this trend reversing very quickly.
Brownwood, Texas
It means that the media successfully got Obama elected by scarring the hell out of the American people about Georg W Bush and the Republicans! Now the media is doing all they can to get there man a second term by talking up the economy. Simple Jack!
Jack
It means that the deliberate efforts of the pass several years within the U.S to widen the gap between the haves and the have nots is presently being sustained despite the severe down turn in the global economy. Look at the statistics of thriving versus struggling 9 years back and see what the numbers look like in terms of how many Americans were thriving then versus now.....
Steve
Clifton, VA
It means most of the folks who were hurt the worst by this recession, were probably living beyond their means with too much reliance on credit. Of course ,we're all going to pay for it now, forever.
Jack - If this is called "thriving", I definitely "missed the boat"!
well jack, it means that somone has been pulling our chains !
It doesn't mean a dam thing to those that are still struggling. But lets hope the market is finally on the up swing.
Tells me that the current people in the White House have things going in the correct direction for a change.
Considering hundreds of thousands are losing their jobs still every month ... this is a baseless sunshine pumpers claim to boost your boys on the hill Jack.
Wake up, the recession isnt over, and until the lost jobs are made up it wont be. You can see this or you really are a Liberal Troll
Jack its simple, it means that the recession which we all thought once was is slowly turning around. More jobs in my area are being created everyday and more and more people in my area are spending. It means that the recession is no more, what we once thought it was.
Jack,
It's a good thing, I do believe we, the American peolpe, are getting adjusted to all this and are becoming more comfortable with the new administaration and what we all need to do to fix it.
Jack, come on! where did they take this survey? At Warren Buffetts' house? Jim/ Phoenixville, Pa.
Nothing, as basically a 50/50 split is too close to call. Poll answers are influenced by WHERE you live &/or whether you're EMPLOYED OR NOT (which I'm not, thus my standard of living falls in the struggling category). It's too early to tell, as the economy has not hit bottom yet; interest rates are starting to climb & inflation is climbing into bed with us. Summer jobs will be available in many sectors & falsely lower unemployment rates. FALL figures will show the actual worse case scenarios that the public needs to be prepared for.
I wonder where they are conducting these polls. Because in the city where I live there is about 11% unemployment, the small school district in my city, which has had very little money for years now, has really had to cut back with even less money these days due to the approximately 700 or more foreclosures in my city. If a poll says that more Americans are " thriving " than " struggling " why don't they conduct that poll again in some of the inner cities and foreclosure ridden suburbs and see what the result of that poll is.
Derek
Brooklyn Center, MN
Jack,
How in the world could more people be thriving now when the unemployment rate is higher than ever? How could less people be struggling if gas prices have increased and food prices are still high? I think all it means is that the ones who were struggling in November finally had to sell their computers for food so they couldn't take the poll.
Really? I must not have gotten the memo on it.
Pueblo, CO
What Dose It mean Jack? when push come to shove it dose not matter .If people are struggling if you are not, and if you are struggling, and others are not ,if you are what dose matter is your own situation.
I guess if you are thriving You would just say thank god and go on with your every day life , And If you are struggling I think you are also to busy to think about those that are not.
Ronald Holst
San Antonio, TX
What a Manichean world we live in. 97% are at one extreme or the other, and only 3% are in the middle? What kind of a survey question is this? I have news for Gallup: The world is not black or white, people are not either for us or for the terrorists, and they are not either struggling or thriving.
I wonder who was polled. If only those who are still well off were asked then the results are understandable. The people who have lost their jobs and have had their phones shut off because they couldn't pay for them didn't get asked did they?
They've learned how to live within their means.
It depends upon who you ask. In the printing and paper business, I have customers that are down as much as 30%-40%. The industry as a whole was off between 20%-40%. There has been massive employee reductions throughout our industry. Paper prices are plunging to an all time low. On the other hand, I have a friend that owns a transmission business that is doing well. He attributes his growth to Americans not buying new cars, repairing and keeping their old one. I don't think polls mean much. I simply think that citizens are trying to positive to regain confidence when they are pollled...not realistic.
it says the policies of president obama are working and will continue to work if given a chance.b ush policies never would work and are the main reason the country is in the difficulty it's in. thank god for president obama ,he is the right man for the job and will lead us out of this recession
Hi Jack,
For my husband and I – baby boomers – that means retirement funds have regained some of their losses. Ours have and so we feel more secure than we did when the stock market kept crashing. In fact we feel secure enough to make significant improvements on our home.
In my neighborhood in Houston there are fortunately no foreclosures and folks who want to sell houses are able to do so successfully without taking any losses. Some new construction is going up and all in all, things look pretty normal. I hope this is not an anomaly but so far so good. (I am knocking on my wooden desk.)
Our employers froze salaries this year but this has been offset by no increases in our health care benefits, parking and other kinds of fees. We received small tax cuts so that helps somewhat with the frozen salaries this year, too. We've learned to do with less, eat at home more often and become less wasteful in our daily habits.
Our son, a recent college graduate has a job with health care benefits, so we feel very fortunate.
It probably means that inlation is on the way. Here we go again.
Who fudged the numbers which happens all the time in this country and our news media. maybe some one has money for the stock markets.
Easton PA...... Tell all the unemployed that America is thriving; I don't think they'd agree. There are so many layers to our economy, and our society, that I don't think we will have the true measure of this situation until long after it either begins to flourish again, or tanks completely. I've been looking for a job since I moved here three years ago. If I ever find something – and if my husband doesn't lose his job in the meantime – then maybe I'll join that group that's supposedly thriving.
With another 600,000 unemployment claims filed in April I'd say someone didn't get the statistics correct.
Given that both terms are relative, "thriving" Americans versus "struggling" Americans means what it has always meant: the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Loss of an annual twelve million dollars in bonuses for the wall street executive imposes a "struggle" to sustain and/or upgrade his/her palatial lifestyle, whereas an additional twelve dollars per week for the average worker is an indicator of upward mobility.
It means that the pollsters must be asking the question in the wrong place!
Or it means that there is some city or state that I need to move to in order to begin to "thrive" again.
As it stands my husband has not worked in nearly a year. And you can guess that means we are living on our savings. Other family members have lost their home or are on the bring of doing so. There is NO WORK for many people. Just heard yesterday that another family member's job will be cutting hours to two weeks a month! Where I live now there are many, many foreclosures, and on every street MANY homes sit empty. People are getting laid off every day.
Tell those who work at GM or at Chrysler dealerships that the economy is picking up and they will laugh in your face, that is if they are not already crying!
Thriving is not just a physical state but mental/emotional as well. I think having a real leader in Washington has boosted morale tremendously and perpetual optimism is now catching on, which is what's necessary to bring us back up and out of recession. Mr. Obama is not perfect, but he certainly is intelligent, genuinely concerned, and very much in touch...qualities sorely lacking in his predecessor. I sleep better at night knowing that Bush has no more power to screw things up.
(Roland/St George, UT)
It means that Obama is working.
Maybe what it means that more Americans have relearned an old and nearly lost art: namely, saving money. There's nothing quite like a cash cushion on hand to overcome that sinking feeling people have when they are treading water to pay for all the junk they buy and discover only afterwards that they really don't want. Keep cutting up those high-interest credit cards, folks. Give the banks the message they deserve for a change.
I think it was just a long winter, Jack. It's spring and people are smelling the flowers...
Jack, it means there is more work to do, but we are on the right track. It looks like 'No' was the wrong answer.
We have not lost anything in the past year but we are not trusting and spending with caution in this economy, as long as jobs are being lost nation wide. Only a fool would not put away for a rainy day or a possible job lost. You never know what the future holds. Americans have over spent for generations the wise will spend with caution. If banks are not lending, housing and the auto industry are not stable, Social security in trouble 50% of the people are living a false illusion. In my opinion.
Oregon
I don't know about anyone else but here it is struggling unless that $250.00 check I got was suppose to put me in the thriving class. If thats the case then i guess i'm thriving..I have a feeling more people will be saying struggling when the car companies are done closing all these dealerships.
Well it means that more people will go shopping and my husband and I will be shipping more ties than a year ago! YEAH! We're a fairly new business and we've been holding our own. We wake up each day with positive attitudes and keep our heads held high. What more can we all do at this point? So to hear that things out there are improving puts a little lift in my step! YIPPEE!
Interesting gap, 50% are thriving, and 47% are struggling. It means, out of that 47%, some are living in poverty, some are unemployed, some are elderly and living on fixed incomes, and....... some...... are in credit card debt up to their ears.
Amazing that in April of 2009, during the Bush Recession, 50% consider themselves thriving, when in November of 2008, it was a low...... 37%.
Hmmmm..... I believe the Obama Recovery has started!
That would be an illusion fostered by deception by the elite.
It means that I wasn't counted. Add a plus one to the striving column.
It doesn't mean any thing. Jack. I am still in the whole as do many other Americans. It's the same thing Bush administration claimed when they said that the economy was doing well while middle class workers were frying. I'll believe it when I experience it.
It means we're not giving up w/o a fight, Jack!!
Well I'm not anyway....Life is too short to let the BS happen to you and take it.......I'm fighting for my place in America!!!
We are struggling. Whatever Gallop says, or calculates, the struggle will never be over until the wealth that is generated by Americans and honest workers all over the world is shared by those that produce it – not those that exploit it.
I guess it depends on what one considers as "thriving".
I think that it means so far the GOP saying "NO" has not worked and some of the things the president is doing and trying to do are slowing working. Of course the far right won't give him credit far it I'm sure and are probably hoping beyond hope that something major he does will indeed fail. In the meantime although they have no offers nor answers they'll continue making tv and radio ads and tell those who will believe them that we are on the way to a socialized goverment.
I think your reference to "people's attitudes about the economy and their personal financial situation" is very relevant. It can take a while for a person to adapt to a new lifestyle. We who have had to make changes, cutting back on non-essentials, squeezing the nickel until the buffalo squeals, are learning some valuable, painful lessons. Those of the "greatest generation" had to sacrifice due to the evil of a foreign government. We are learning to sacrifice due to the evil of some of our own citizens. Nevertheless, there is still the attitude of "us vs. them". Perhaps what only a few months ago seemed to be a "struggle" is now perceived as "thriving". There may be less money, but we are rising to the challenge with pride, determination, and perseverance.
I don't see much 'thriving' going on with a 3 percent different. While those lucky people thrive everything else is still struggling.
Jack it does not mean a damn thing. This is a gallup poll that took place back in April. Those 50 percent will probably lose their jobs at GM dealerships in the next 3 weeks. Gasoline prices are over 2.50 cents a gallon. The government is trying to tax us out of existence to pay for pet projects of the current administration and currently we are having to borrow money from China to bail out our banks, car manufacturers, Freddie and Frannie Mae and a host of other unsuccessful companies that had been stealing from Americans for years with approval from our our unchecked and unregulated government officials who gave their blessing for the theft through enacting legislation that permit it. No Jack we are not thriving. In fact the United States Congress has created a 'Failure to thrive Syndrome' for all Americas and their children for the next 2 decades. .
I think that the people who are "thriving" are just getting by and not being foreclosed on,while the people struggling are having a hard time getting by. Either that or someones telling a big one?
Yeah if you call 1% thriving, the rest of us have to get by on the crumbs
left by the greedy rich. Millions on unemployment, Home prices bottomed
out, Health care sky high. Thriving, who are yo kidding Jack! Until the
rich parasites in this Country pay their fair share we will always be
struggling. Tax the pants off the rich cats. They are only interested in
their own bottom line.
While it is just a number and today we're searching for numbers that make us happy, it is a number that may make us want to spend money again. We need confidence, nothing more. Confidence can be manufactured which would be a step in the right direction from this administration.
Jack, I just took a pole and found that %100 of those surveyed agreed that the economy is starting to rebound based on this number. When I get done today working ridiculous hours in order to keep my job I'll go survey someone beside myself.
Jack, It means that I must be living in the wrong part of the country. Locally, we're broke, County-wise, we're broke, I won't even bother with what's happening State-wise. There are a hellavu-lot more people unemployed, or under-employed in my part of the state. As with all "polls" taken in this country, I wonder what the hell phone book (if one is used at all). that they're using for their "random" calls. After making it to almost 60, not only I haven't, but I don't know anyone else who has ever been "polled" by Gallop or anyone else. So I have to ask, exactly who are these fools talking to???? I'm self-employed, Jack, so unlike you, I HAVE to answer my phone (though I do use caller-Id).
We have the right man in the white house
Jack,
It means that Spring came and everyones' outlook got better.
Rick form Toronto
Your data is wrong as usual, Jack. Since Obama got elected the whole country is struggling and will as long as he is president and the Dems are in power!
Define 'thriving'. Does this mean no longer being buried in debt, and living paycheck-to-paycheck, or actually saving up money? There is a BIG difference.
You are misinterpreting poll results. The 3-point difference does not mean anything given the margin of error. After all these years the media is still unable (or unwilling) to properly read survey material.
Numan
It means the economy is finally getting better.
I'm not exactly thriving. I'd say more like struggling. I want to know who's being asked these questions, cause they're not talking to me. Ha.
it means there is a silver lining behind the cloud, sooner than we expected. thanks to BHO
Sounds like the new bubble is inflating to the point we're seeing tangible results. Keep up the good work, I'm sure this one won't pop.
It means we are getting past the Bush depression and the Obama plan is working. This is as much an mental attitude adjustment as it is a financial one. We are now full of hope and reality of it is coming true. It can only get better.
Well, when more people are "thriving", as in... not having to worry about money? I'm not real sure about the definitions of terms are here. Anyway, I assume spending will increase, jobs increase and things will return to the good old days... whenever those were.
There are more many people out of work now than in 2008 so what this information shows me is that the American people were told throughout the campaign how horrible things were and believed it even though it was not necessarily true. Now they are starting to wake up and realize that their own personal lives are not as bad as they were told. At the same time, they are waiting for the next shoe to fall and are afraid to spend money.
Means someone is lying. Things are goign to get worse. We are continuing to debase our currency by printing it into oblivion. Ask this question again in mid summer and you will see it reverse. Gas prices will be gouged, food will go up, more companies will be eating at the trough of tax money set before them and our purchasing power will dwindle. What we've seen is just the tip of the iceberg Jack.
Thriving consist of acting on hope, and having hope to better individuals current situation, struggling is the effect after hope has diminished, and acting on despair.
The only thing it means is over the last year the bar has gotten lower
It probably means that congress is in recess! Are they? How can one tell?
As a senior citizen I am being squezeed by higher prices and higher property taxes. So don't count me as being one of those people who think they are better off. Maybe those who are, are the ones getting breaks from the stimulus package.
More Americans are thriving? Must be that all the banks have gotten their stimulus bonus checks by now. I don't know about the rest of us.
Jack,
It is a very positive sign for the economy. It means that folks are feeling less terrified and more confident about their personal finances, now and going forward. It means that they will be more at ease spending money and will be less apt to hoard it out of fear. It means that the economy has turned an important corner and is pointing upward. It means that we finally have a brilliant leader in the oval office instead of an idiot.
Jim
Reno, Nevada
It's simple Jack. Even though it may give folks like Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck an aneurysm, it means that the Obama Administration is restoring consumer confidence and slowly restoring the ailing economy.
Jack,
I've struggled the last two years working for a company that has been growing. I recently quit and I don't think I've felt this good in years. I think more people need to follow happiness and not the paycheck to get this economy back on track. I have had several job offers since quiting, all with more pay than I was making before. I didn't realize working for an abusive boss how valuable my skills are nor how much they are worth to the right people.
Dennis
Fort Worth
Jack,
To quote an accquaintance I know, "This recession is great for people with money!"
As usual, those who have the means to take financial advantage are relishing the ability to get discounts from all sorts of companies from grocery stores to retailers to car dealers.
I think those who were initially frightened by their shrinking 401k's, news of layoffs, and the banking industry meltdown are now realizing that they have been presented with an opportunity to profit during a recession.
Ah, the American Way!
I suspect that the "national mood", if you will, is beginning to turn a corner from gloomy to, to borrow a quote from former President Bush, "cautiously optimistic". Unfortunately, as a student of economics I understand that history suggests the unemployment rate will continue to rise even as the economy begins to grow rather than recede. Hopefully government policies are helping to turn the economy around, with their enormous cost. Bear in mind that "thriving" or "struggling" is not necessarily correlated with the economy. I consider myself a struggling American, but that is related to alcoholism; I am employed full time, purchase health insurance through my employer that is decent, and generally have no personal problems with our economic state.
i believe it mans that the new administration is on the rite track. it was only a few monthes ago that economist's were saying this recesion could last a couple of years.
it appears as though consumer confidence is restoring itself because we now have somone at the top who is honest,firm and optomistic.
i think these three qualitie's are having a profound effect on the market and consumers alike.
last but never least.it allso means that china and wallmart are about to start smiling big again.
george
chester,ct.
i think american will spend when they are sure they will still have jobs the next day. but the jobs only come when the people spend money to support business. it's a very tricky catch 22. the answer not to solve the problem is to PRINT more and more money. look at Zimbabwe, they tried the "print your way" out of fincial problems and see how it worked for them?
Alejo w.
Bern, CH
All indications point to our coming out of this recession. President Obama is doing a fine job of steering us out of this awful mess that the greedy folks at AIG and the likes created and perhaps by this time next year the nightmarish economy will be far behind us; then perhaps we will all rest easier..
It means they changed the meaning of thriving.
Jim Bailey
Cripple Creek CO
I think the turnaround is due to the fact that Americans have been forced to tighten their belts and we finally figured out we can live without five dollar cups of coffee, hundred dollar haircuts, and three hundred dollar cell phones. It's only then you see there is money left over in your paycheck. Unfortuneately, as summer approaches, I fear the price of oil will soon be removing any surplus we might have gained.
Jack:
Let's be reserve here on this survey. It would not surprise me that consumers who may now have some reduction in interest have run out and started to spend on credit again, then look out ! I am not sure that the unwise spenders have mended their ways in seven or eight months.
Lets go through this b.s. assertion that people are thriving... I know more people that have lost their jobs recently in the last month then ever before . The job loss report numbers continue EVEN if the number was less than 600k on the last report.. There are only so many jobs! So eventually as more jobs are lost the number will go down.. know why? BECAUSE there are only so many jobs! Ever think of that? I also, know people that are losing their house and see more reports on that.. Who were these people that stated they are thriving? Where do they live.. Maybe they are in Texas? where did they take this poll? And how did they ask the question. Thriving is a load of bull in this economy!
NOTHING, as the 50/50 split is too close to call. Poll responses are influenced by WHERE you live &/or whether you’re EMPLOYED OR NOT (which I am not, thus my standard of living falls in the struggling category). It’s too early to tell, as the economy has not hit bottom yet; interest rates are starting to climb & inflation is headed upward. Summer jobs will be available in many sectors; yet will falsely lower unemployment rates. FALL figures will show the actual worse case scenarios that the public needs to be prepared for.
it means chicken little that the sky is no longer falling in someone back yard not mine of course but someones somewhere maybe they live over the rainbow but its not in my back yard where we are thriving we are still struggling nice to know someone else is doing ok.
I think our definition of “thriving” is changing. We’re getting used to living on less money, driving fewer miles, taking fewer vacations, etc. It’s like a toothache. When we take a couple of aspirin, we hurt less. It still hurts, but compared to an hour ago, if asked, we would say that we are “better.”
Ron
Oklahoma
It means Americans are cattle. They celebrate avoiding the sledge hammer on Monday oblivious to what may come on Tuesday. The economy is broke because we are giving our jobs away to illegal immigrants legal low wage immigrants and outsourcing jobs over seas. We spent more money than we had and the solution offered by Obama is to spend more money that we also don’t have. It is a temporary reprieve at best. What we need are good high paying middle class jobs and its not happening.
Inflation will occur because our government is rapidly adding money greater than our output ,too much money ,too few goods.
Jack,
Normally I'm an optimistic forward thinking kinda guy but in this instance anyone who thinks they're thriving is deluding themselves.
I'll believe it when I see it, but until then I sm firmly in the sceptical 47%,
Would be nice though.
Jim
Gee Jack,
My husband & 2 furry kids lost jobs 7 months ago & are living in a 2 bedroom trailer with 78 yr old mother, niece & grandniece. Nothing like 7 bodies in a hut. We are in our last bits of unemployment. Eat starch & soup. We are struggling to eat let alone pay the internet/cable bill just to look for jobs. Jobs that used to offer 75k are now paying 50k if make you make it through 3rd or 4th interview. Guess we didn't make that list of folks to call for an opinion on just how well we are thriving. Soon we will not b able to watch you or any other network.
They are striving because they now have learned to expect less. It's a physicological thing. People have learned to cut back for so long that it now appears to be the norm. The fact is that they have adjusted to living with less.