• JollyG@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    Recently there was a news story about how people earning 150k were struggling financially. Even just reading the article was enough to know the idea was bullshit (which is probably why the headline used such mealy-mouthed language). But that did not stop a bunch of users from prognosticating about how terrible the economy is and how we are on the verge of collapse.

    The idea that households earning more than 150k are struggling is objectively wrong. They are not. But that idea is consistent with the political sentiments of users here ( billionaires vs everyone else in a zero sum economy ) so it gets traction.

    People pass around trash sources like the new republic which often just copies other news outlets but reframes stories to be consistent with lefty sentiments about whatever current events are going on.

    In one community I encountered an image macro criticizing a judge for making a ruling against some plaintiffs suing Trump that was completely divorced from any context, making it appear the judge was in the tank for trump when, if you knew even a little about her, or the ruling you would immediately recognize that idea as bullshit.

    Those are just a few examples off the top of my head

    • Annoyed_🦀 @lemmy.zip
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      8 days ago

      That news is basically about how people who used to earn 150k per year that since losing their job and can’t find one, thus can’t keep up with their mortgage and debt. What’s so fake about it? You sure we read the same news?

      • JollyG@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        I was referring to the story that implied the rate of loan defaults was rising among households earning over 150K, but the data showed a default rate that increased from something like 0.17% to 0.36% of all households in that category, didn’t describe the variance around that rate, and didn’t describe the reliability of the administrative records from which the rate was calculated–two factors that will dominate percentage fluctuation at values that infinitesimally small.

        If you go into the comment sections where that story was posted, you will see people talking about how America forces even middle class people to spend lavishly beyond their needs, or how people in this class are irresponsible with money, or how impossible it is to live in HCOL cities, or how wealthy people are stealing everything, or how corporations are stealing everything. Few people really questioned the plausibility of the story’s framing.