The nation’s economy expanded at a robust 4.9% annual rate from July through September as Americans defied higher prices, rising interest rates and widespread forecasts of a recession to spend at a brisk pace.

The Commerce Department said the economy expanded last quarter at the fastest pace in nearly two years — and more than twice the 2.1% annual rate of the previous quarter.

Thursday’s report on the nation’s gross domestic product — the economy’s total output of goods and services — showed that consumers drove the acceleration, ramping up their spending on everything from cars to restaurant meals. Even though the painful inflation of the past two years has soured many people’s view of the economy, millions have remained willing to splurge on vacations, concert tickets and sports events.

  • Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    …and yet here we are, still shackled by shit like student loan debt, rent, utilities, and food. God forbid the check engine light comes on, or my gallbladder decides to start making stones.

    “The economy” doesn’t mean shit if it doesn’t scale with the fruits of our labor. Just oligarchs getting richer while the rest of us suffer.

    Is it guillotine day yet?

    • ApostleO@startrek.website
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      1 year ago

      Every day is guillotine day if you’re brave enough.

      The best time to build a guillotine was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.

      If I ever ran for president, I’d run on the platform of building a permanent, working guillotine next to every capitol building in the US. Then I’d have a giant guillotine the size of the Statue of Liberty built of American steel, and have it sent to the people of France.

      • Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Every day is guillotine day if you’re brave enough.

        I’m not though. -_-

        Or at the very least, I’m fully aware that any attempt I have the means to make would be nigh-guaranteed to yield nothing, and either get me killed or imprisoned. So… daydream time is over; back to the grind.

            • Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              Resorting to violence or even a full blown coup wouldn’t come close to sinking to their level if it’s actually justified. Doing that kind of thing because your team lost a vote or because you hate non-white/non-straight/non-Christian/non-male people would be stooping to MAGA’s level. Decapitating a handful of supervillains who have their boot on humanity’s neck is a gain for everyone except our oppressors.

      • Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        Then I’d have a giant guillotine the size of the Statue of Liberty built of American steel, and have it sent to the people of France.

        I love the symmetry of this. I bet the French would set it up near Versailles.