There’s a lot going on in the economy — inflation remains an issue, the Federal Reserve is still raising interest rates, and don’t forget the debate over how the United States will pay its bills.
The American consumer sees all this and is a little more gloomy about business and labor market conditions. According to a reading of the Conference Board on Tuesday, consumer confidence fell in May. And if you look at the data, those over 55 are particularly depressed.
Patricia Brooks, 79, was on her way to a bingo game when I caught her outside a seniors’ center in southeast Baltimore. She didn’t gamble for a lot of money.
“Just pennies. That’s all we have! “You know, nickels, pennies,” she said, laughing.
When Brooks was younger, she worked as a nanny and in retail — nothing that would have helped her save for retirement. Now that she’s living off Social Security, she feels like the economy is doing terribly badly.
“We try to keep our homes as beautiful as possible and to buy our groceries, but that’s difficult,” she said. “You have other bills. You had a hard time with it. And medicinal. Oh my god the medical coverage is so high.”
A few blocks away is 69-year-old Michael Engler on his daily walk. He is not worried about his economic future, having just sold his financial planning and investment company.
“It’s a good deal, yes,” he said, laughing. “I’m finally fed up.”
For the overall economy, however, Engler is not very optimistic. “I think the labor market is strong, but interest rates are higher. Buying a house is therefore more difficult. People are calling for a recession later this year.”
According to the Consumer Confidence Survey, people over 55 are significantly more pessimistic than younger people. They have less time to make or save money and more time to rack up debt.
Ataman Ozyildirim, an executive director of the Conference Board, is nearly 53 and said he gets it.
“When I was in my 30s, I rarely looked at my retirement portfolio or bank balance. But now that I’m in my 50s, I think my time horizon is shorter and I probably need to pay a little more attention,” he said. “It sort of focuses the mind.”
In a way, how you feel about the economy in your 60s and 70s depends on how things were in previous decades.
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