After reading this news story that half of Americans are skipping meals because of affordability and a bad economy, I have to ask how are you all doing out there?
I heard from a real estate agent friend of mine that REOs, i.e. bank foreclosures on home mortgages, are going up like crazy, which is a sign of bad times, like the recession of 2007-08.
I have heard from others about rents not being paid, lack of jobs, etc.
Every day, there’s more news of corporate layoffs, moreso than usual.
I live in the economic bubble of the SF Bay Area, where tech wealth more-or-less insulates me and mine from the most serious consequences of a bad economy, but how are things elsewhere?
I can’t tell. I’ve always been dirt poor.
Grocery prices are up about %15. And discounts are stingier.
In the last 10 years the costs of houses in the area for sale have tripled, so that’s something, but that is expected to come down soon. Renting is pretty overpriced.
It’s slower than usual at work but not by a terrible amount. The company renting some of our warehouse space just laid off their entire staff and halted operations. They were kind of jank, though, so no big surprise.
Other than that things seem to be sluggishly grinding along. Nobody seems particularly happy about anything, as if there’s a malaise drifting in the air, but nobody I know is skipping meals or getting evicted.