Am I living in a bubble?

[Anonymous]

There are many contractors who are not getting paid due to the shutdown and they will not receive back pay. This will eventually hit McLean although I would imagine that most of this crowd has healthy savings accounts.

[Anonymous]

Read Peter Turchin. This is the “wealth pump”. Elite overproduction. The rich get richer.

[Anonymous]

The poster is a troll. And trolls always do well on this website.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in McLean and things are humming here. Starbucks is always crowded, and the butcher always has lines. It’s like the furlough, economy downturn, and the tough job market doesn’t seem to impact people who live in McLean. People still send their kids to private tutoring, and there is a waiting list. Crazy times…

Are you a troll or simply dense?

[Anonymous]

I live in McLean as well, our income went from 1 mil/yr to 750k/year due to cuts to federal contracts. Of course, we are still doing fine but there are a lot of people in government contracting/consulting space that have been affected, even in McLean.

Sure, most people here have good savings and investments but the damage is there. I also know 2 furloughed feds, fortunately both have spouses in private sector with good jobs.

[Anonymous]

Many of your neighbors are in denial. And if you aren’t spending money are you even in McLean?

[Anonymous]

Come out to Burke - lots of furloughed and excepted feds working without pay. Our Starbucks are not as crowded. So yes, McLean is somewhat of a bubble.

[Anonymous]

i think there’s an inflated sense for some of how much the shut down impacts most people. Honestly most people don’t care:

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i think entire DMV is a bubble. that means you too OP. get out more.

This. DCUM is a bubble. Any normal poster (me) can’t believe what other people post and vice versa.

[Anonymous]

I've got a mixed bag - two kids in private sector not affected (one lives in McLean), a nephew who is excepted and showing up to work w/out pay, a neighbor who is furloughed and not getting paid and another relative with a small govt contract who is only funded until mid-Nov (and is worried).

It really depends on your circle of friends/acquaintences.

[Anonymous]

Hey, enjoy your Starbucks, until they come for the McLean-ers…

“First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in McLean and things are humming here. Starbucks is always crowded, and the butcher always has lines. It’s like the furlough, economy downturn, and the tough job market doesn’t seem to impact people who live in McLean. People still send their kids to private tutoring, and there is a waiting list. Crazy times…

Sure you are.
And you are a troll.

Of course it is impacting people. You have no idea what people are doing stop gossiping.

I don’t think she’s a troll. She’s clueless of course the rich aren’t affected. The top 10% is propping up the economy so everything feels fine.

[Anonymous]

My husband and I have not been affected financially since our fields (non-fed) are not usually impacted when things like this happen. We are more comfortable than we’ve ever been, actually. I got a raise last month.

But it’s affecting other people around us, coworkers, strangers, friends, and family. And we can’t be 100% certain that our jobs are safe with the current administration. Recent changes at my job in response to current events have doubled my responsibilities, and they’re certainly not hiring anytime soon.

With just….everything….that’s going on, it would be difficult to feel insulated unless I never went outside. Even silly little things, like how the hair salon was almost empty on a Saturday afternoon, remind you of this. I used to sell paintings and custom invitations but stopped earlier this year because people in my neighborhood don’t have money for those things now. Granted, I don’t live in McLean, but still.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in McLean and things are humming here. Starbucks is always crowded, and the butcher always has lines. It’s like the furlough, economy downturn, and the tough job market doesn’t seem to impact people who live in McLean. People still send their kids to private tutoring, and there is a waiting list. Crazy times…

I don’t even live in “McLean”. I live in plain old Sterling and the same is true here. DH and I remark on it all the time. Not just this downturn but any time there is a recession, early COVID, etc. ‘09 crisis, etc. never affects anyone near us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you kept up with economic data, you'd see that the wealthy continue to spend like there's not tomorrow, and the poor are struggling under inflation and job loss.

So yes, your eyes are not lying to you. You are in a bubble. Please be considerate of others outside of it.

This is, unironically, why Trump won. Rich people see stocks go up and think the world is humming along like it's supposed poor people can't afford rent or groceries and Trump sold them a dream. And I'm saying this as a liberal. We just don't get it.

The poor waits for government to hand out and the rich invests in stock market.

To invest in the stock market, you need to ave something leftover at the end of the month.

Pardon my English, but here we go:
I am the poor.
I invest in the stock market. Started finally in 2020.
The poor do have money left over at the end of the month. I know they do, because I have lived and worked among them since 1997.There are other reasons that keep them from investing and getting ahead. If you haven't been poor, you may not know the main ones. The pay is not even in top 5 reasons why poor stay poor.
Today's situation is nothing like it was 2001 after 9/11 and 2008/9 for the poor. I couldn't even get a server job after a decade of experience. I had two jobs in 2008 that cost me more to go to work than to stay home. Employer didn't care to meet the minimum. Now filing a complaint is just clicks away.
If the poor are suffering, then they have other things going on that keep them from doing ok. We pay $30-$40 an hour without experience and still can't find workers. They disappeared few years ago.
My 18-year old was hired by the first business that interviewed him. He worked 11- hours straight yesterday yet again (in Tysons corner).
According to my sister, it's the middle class feeling the squeeze. I told her I would skip the middle class then.
As a poor, I'm doing great first time since moving here in 1996. Still in restaurant, but the pay is awesome. People have never been more generous. I bet the money they throw around comes from the stock market.
Non-tipping tourists have disappeared. And so have the people who tipped 10%.