“I don’t have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It’s a depression. Everybody’s out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel’s worth. Banks are going bust. Shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there’s nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there’s no end to it. We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TVs while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that’s the way it’s supposed to be.”
This was the famous “I’m Mad as Hell” speech from the incredible 1976 motion picture “Network.” What’s interesting about this speech is that this was made 40 years ago. Four decades later, have things really changed? Many people are out of work, the dollar still buys a nickel’s worth, the banks went bust and punks are running wild in the street trying to suppress free speech.
A new study by the Federal Reserve found that 76 million Americans, or roughly one-third of the country, are struggling to get by or are barely making it. The United States central bank’s report on the economic well-being of U.S. households last year discovered that nearly one-quarter (22 percent) of the working population has multiple jobs.
Although the researchers say that Americans are better off than they were in 2014, a large number of people are still falling on hard financial times.
“There is little question that, on the whole, the financial well-being of Americans seems to have improved relative to the prior year and relative to the year before that,” the report said. “However, the many pockets of consumers who display elevated levels of financial stress and who are at risk for financial disruption in the case of further economic hardships remain a concern.”
With many Americans experiencing volatile incomes, a growing number are drawing down on their savings to cover their daily expenses. When the savings are exhausted, Americans are turning to payday loans, pawn shops, auto title loans and other kinds of financial alternatives.
What makes the report very interesting is the conclusion that people in all demographics and income levels are vulnerable to financial hardship.
Despite the extensive Federal Reserve and U.S. government stimulus, the average man isn’t seeing the supposed benefits. And the smartest men in the room wonder why the likes of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are so popular.
If you have yet to see this iconic film, here is a clip of the excellent Howard Beale speech:
Leave a Comment