What are the other 29% of people smoking?

[disneysteve]

I saw a survey that said 71% of Americans think the economy is in worse shape today than it was 5 years ago. Duh!

My first thought was what the heck is wrong with the other 29% of respondents?

[jIM_Ohio]

Economies are relative. Maybe those 29% were invested in gold and silver 5 years ago and just retired.

[sweeps]

Also it could be politically motivated. The 29% could be Republicans who want to hold on to the White House.

[LuxLiving]

Perhaps they invested in other currencies long ago and are currently smoking rolled up American dollars??

[PauletteGoddard]

Maybe the 29% of respondents include: people priced out of their schizophrenia meds, H1B and Trade NAFTA visa holders who are enjoying the good life/higher standard of living, people shorting the market, identity thieves, and Bill the Cat.

[Broken Arrow]

Bill the Cat.

Ohhh, I love the Bill the Cat for President reference! Once in a long political while, I still muse of voting for the triumphant come-back that is the Bloom County Party.

Pass me that 29% good stuff.

[ceejay74]

Maybe it's people whose individual finances are doing better recently and aren't really affected by any of the downturns. Though when I take a poll online I always say the economy's gotten worse because of what I read and see on the news, my own personal financial nadir was about a year ago, and my own personal finances have improved so much since then (though there's still a long ways to go) that I feel (emotionally, not logically) that the economy is just fine.

Gas prices don't affect me: I don't drive, and my family's bus passes are pretax, really cheap and/or completely reimbursed by our employers.

Despite grocery prices going up, my food expenses are way lower because we eat at home almost every meal versus eating out about 1/3 of the time, and thanks to menu planning barely throw out any groceries.

We don't have much saved, so our investments aren't taking much of a hit.

My mortgage will reset in October but there's a good chance it will reset lower or about the same as it is. My husband's UK mortgage rates have lowered twice in the past year.

So yeah, if I didn't read the news I might be part of the "puff-puff-give" 29%! :P

[disneysteve]

I think you're right, ceejay, and I thought of that. I guess it depends how the question was asked. Is the nation's economy worse is a different question than is your personal financial situation worse. We also haven't been majorly affected by economic pressures. Yes, we are paying more for gas and food and yes our portfolio has taken a hit, but we haven't had to make any changes to our lifestyle and we are still putting 20% of our income into savings. We are trying to be a bit more careful with our spending but nothing extreme.

But I think you'd have to be living in a cave somewhere to not hear about the real estate bubble, sub-prime mortgages, credit crunch, falling savings rates, rising inflation, the weak dollar, etc. that all add up to the overall economy having trouble.

[maat55]

Seems like 5 years ago was the 2003 stock drop. I think I had a pretty bad year that year. So the question is relevant.