I sold a lot of stock this past month. Not nearly enough, though. 
If you are a long term investor, you should be fine. In fact, if you're young, now might be a good time to start buying shares of the S&P 500 companies.
If you're near retirement, you just have to wait it out and hope for the best. 
If you're a senior living on a fixed income, cost of living is increasing and you already know the yearly SS increases never cover REAL inflation. 
Seniors always seem to be the ones that get punished the most or left out of the equation on fiscal policy.
Hopefully energy bills will start coming down. Trump promised that our utility bills will be cut in half within one year.

dano

If you're near retirement, you just have to wait it out and hope for the best. 

“Wait it out and hope for the best”

Did I miss this part of trumps 2024 campaign? I don’t recall Trump or any other republicans saying this part out loud?

Sure it’s true that the market always recovers long term. That’s not much consolation to somebody that has lost tens of thousand or maybe even hundreds of thousands of dollars in one day.

And some people do actually lose everything. Some businesses go under and never recover. This kind of volatility is not desirable in any way.

If you are checking how your stocks are doing on a regular basis that's not good for your health and probably shouldn't have any.

Do your work places match dollar for dollar? Mine did and got in right after a crash and lucked out retiring at a good time from there.

Brother in law has around a million invested and was planning on retiring at the end of this year. Bad news for my old lady or our kids 🤑

crappiefisher
If you are checking how your stocks are doing on a regular basis that's not good for your health and probably shouldn't have any.

 I haven't looked at mine today. I'm trying to stay positive. I already know I'm taking a beating. Been there before. 2018, 2020,2022. It does seem a little different this time because this drop is self inflicted and I'm not sure his plan is well planned. 
The market is down but so far it didn't seem to be a lot of volume. If it was huge volume then that would be bad. 

I saw all of this happening months ago. I pulled early, but those missed gains are beyond made up. It is only funds that I had in my “rainy day/market gambling” fund. My retirement and other are riding it out and down big. It will be another 6-8 months of losses even if the clown were to take away the tariffs. The uncertainty of everything messes up just about every sector’s business plans. He can’t just provide a plan and stick to it. He says one thing and the. Does the opposite. Consumer confidence is extremely low, which drives the economy. 35% recession estimates is half what most analysts would admit. If it is even considered a recession and not depression.

dano

psu_fish
I do a regular reoccurring contribution to my Roth, its more set n forget, its totally separate from work retirement plan/account. Who knows if SS will be around when Im of retirement age, but been paying into it for a while now, so if it hangs on, that will be a 3rd retirement revenue stream.

Smart being in a Roth. I know many retirees that wished they would have gone that way. 

Opened at age 25, 3 years removed from college. The big 40 is creeping ever so close. Plan for next 15 years to max that puppy every year.

I’m sure there is a well thought out strategic plan and I’m also sure it has him and his cronies top of the list. I’ve heard the theory of crashing the economy to force the Fed to drop rates. Which is good for refinancing the deficit. Collecting tariff revenue in the mean time. But unless the crash is significant, the Fed is not known to be quick to act. A significant crash that is 100% caused by policy that seems to be intentional, I am not even sure if the Fed would lower. That seems like a recipe for stagflation.

I took some big hits on some of my tech holdings. But would have taken about 20% more if I held. The floor dropped on them and doesn’t appear like that sector will rebound any time soon. The investors seem eager to bankroll, but ERs are consistently underperforming. Just way too overbought during the COVID period. This drop today maybe is close to bottom? But with interest rates still high, unless they are established tech, the environment for growth is just brutal. I’d imagine much of their hardware is from Taiwan and other. Imagine a ton of tech companies and other going bankrupt from the clown. You know “being business friendly”…

But hey, I only “say this” because I am a Libtard….

DarDys
As someone who teaches a course, among others, called “Negotiation Skills for Business Professionals,” the installation of reciprocal tariffs is the classic negotiating strategy of an exaggerated opening offer using a position of strength from a power-over stance because of a far more grounded, easily operational, and superior BATNA. My third-year business students could see that in a New York minute (not that there is much one can do to counteract it at this point).

How foreign leaders don’t realize it (many probably do, but must feign strength because they don’t want to lose face or admit they have been on the good side of the equation for so long); how the MSM “experts” don’t explain the move (they don’t want to because that would mean doing some actual research into the topic and not just screaming platitudes that reinforce their narrative — like the uninhabited islands being tariffed — no, Australia was tariffed, they just happen to own the islands so by default, all get tariffed ); and the headline readers are once again falling for “pull my finger” is amazing.

Sometimes negotiations are short, that will happen with a few countries. Sometimes negotiating takes time because the other party has some level of strength or “the need to win,” despite not being able to prevail in a protracted negotiation. Some countries will never capitulate and those are the ones that businesses will move from so as to remain in the market.

Plenty of people have suggested this is a negotiation tactic, so this isn’t really the insightful take you think it is.

The problem with this idea is that he hasn’t even made his goals clear, so nobody even knows what kind of concessions the US is looking for.

And if the goal is in fact a more favorable trade deal, well he negotiated deals with China, Mexico and Canada during his first term. Have we decided those deals are bad? So every couple of years we are just gonna do everything all over or what?

Sounds to me like you are desperately trying to rationalize the actions of a clown who is just making things up as they go along.

You might think Trump is making some brilliant moves here, but throwing everything into chaos is not a good strategy. People are going to get tired of it pretty fast.

Economic policy of the Joe Biden administration,.

The economic policy of the Joe Biden administration, colloquially known as Bidenomics (a portmanteau of Biden and economics), is characterized by relief measures and vaccination efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic, investments in infrastructure, and strengthening the social safety net, funded by tax increases on higher-income individuals and corporations. Other goals include increasing the national minimum wage and expanding worker training, narrowing income inequality, expanding access to affordable healthcare, and forgiveness of student loan debt.[1] The March 2021 enactment of the American Rescue Plan to provide relief from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was the first major element of the policy. Biden's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was signed into law in November 2021 and contains about $550 billion in additional investment, to repair infrastructure like roads, bridges and water pipes and expand passenger rail and broadband. Biden signed two additional major pieces of longer-term economic legislation to boost semiconductor investments and public basic research, and expand green energy and health insurance subsidies.[2]

The first year of the Biden presidency (2021) saw strong growth in real GDP, wages, employment, stock market returns, and household net worth, coupled with an increase in inflation, as the economy recovered from the pandemic recession of 2020. During 2022–2023, the unemployment rate averaged 3.6%. By April 2024, the unemployment rate had remained below 4.0% for the longest sustained period since 1953.[3][4] Monthly job creation averaged a robust 402,000 from inauguration through February 2024, or 273,000 from June 2022, when the pre-pandemic jobs level was regained.[5] However, past this point unemployment continued to increase to 4.3% in July 2024.[3] Inflation increased up to 9.0% (measured vs. a year earlier) in June 2022, then began falling. By June 2023 inflation was 3.1% and remained around that level through June 2024. As of November 2024, the inflation rate was 2.7%, with rent price increases contributing roughly half.[2] While inflation was similar to peer countries, the U.S. has outgrown its peers.[2] The Federal Reserve rapidly raised a key interest rate from March 2022 until August 2023, and is expected to lower interest rates in the second half of 2024.[6] The stock market repeatedly broke record highs in 2024.[7]

The New Republic praised Biden's economic record in July 2024, highlighting how record low unemployment led to wage growth at the lower half of the distribution. In October 2024, 35% of households with incomes below $50,000 a year were living paycheck to paycheck, up from 32% in 2019.[8] The expansion of the Affordable Care Act, the child tax credit, $1400 stimulus checks, and the expansion of SNAP benefits also boosted balance sheets for low and middle-income Americans.[2] New business formation is also up 30% from pre-pandemic levels, and notably strong among women including women of color.[2] Biden took antitrust law enforcement more seriously than presidents in recent memory, as seen by the work of Lina Khan at the FTC.[2] The administration also pursued lower drug prices by allowing Medicare to negotiate the prices it pays and capping the price of insulin.[2]

Surveys have also found most Americans view their own economic situation positively and rate their local and state economies as doing better than the national economy,[9] hinting at a disconnect fueled more by media narrative.[2] For example, a March 2024 CBS News poll found that 65% of Americans viewed the economy under Biden's predecessor (and eventual successor), Donald Trump, as good, whereas only 38% expressed a similar positive opinion of the current economy under Biden.[10]

Overview
edit
President Biden described his economic philosophy via Twitter in June 2023: "Bidenomics is about growing the economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down. It's an economic vision where we make smart investments in America, educate and empower American workers, and promote competition to lower costs and help small businesses."[11]

2021
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President Biden inherited a challenging economic and budgetary situation from President Donald Trump, due significantly to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of December 2020, the jobs level was nearly 10 million (6%) below the early 2020 peak, and the unemployment rate was an elevated 6.7%.[12] There was a record budget deficit in fiscal year 2020 of $3.1 trillion, or 14.9% GDP.[13]

Biden's first major legislative response was the American Rescue Plan Act enacted in March 2021, a $1.9 trillion package that included $1,400 checks per adult, an expanded child tax credit for a year with $250–300 monthly checks per child expected to drastically reduce child poverty, extended unemployment benefits, and expanded eligibility for healthcare benefits, among others. The primary impact was in fiscal year (FY) 2021, with a smaller impact in FY 2022. No Republicans in the House of Representatives or the Senate voted for the Rescue Act.

Biden followed-up with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law in November 2021. It authorized infrastructure investment of $1 trillion total over a decade for roads, bridges, airports, sea ports, rail, broadband, water, and public transit, among others. CBO estimated the deficit impact at $250 billion total, as they considered prior infrastructure investment trends as a baseline for comparison. The law passed the Senate in bi-partisan fashion, 69–30.[14]

Real GDP grew 5.9% during Biden's first year, the fastest rate since 1984.[15][16] Amid record job creation, the unemployment rate fell at the fastest pace on record during Biden's first year, from 6.4% in January 2021 to 3.9% by December 2021.[17][18] However, inflation significantly increased in 2021 relative to 2020 in the U.S. and Europe, attributed to factors such as strong consumer demand for goods (empowered by government relief programs), supply restrictions in port capacity and microchips, and lower 2020 prices.[19][20]

Inflation was partially offset by strong wage growth; by one measure, worker wages and benefits increased at the fastest rate in at least 20 years.[21][22] The administration noted that high inflation was also present in the Eurozone, Canada and the United Kingdom, though economists said the $5 trillion in government stimulus spending in the United States during 2020 and 2021 was disproportionately large compared to that of other countries and was a significant contributor to domestic inflation.[23] Democrats changed the meaning of the term recession to fit their narrative. Despite the pandemic and inflation challenges, Bloomberg News reported in November 2021 that the S&P 500 stock market return of 37.4% in Biden's first year (measured from election day) was the highest of any modern president.[24] The stock market gains and significant housing price increases contributed to record household net worth of $142 trillion by Q4 2021.[25]

The budget deficit in fiscal year (FY) 2021, the last year budgeted by President Trump, was $2.8 trillion, down from $3.1 trillion in FY 2020.[25]

2022
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Inflation rate, United States and eurozone, January 2018 through June 2023
A global inflation surge that began in 2021 and peaked in June 2022 before declining through 2023 and into 2024.

The unemployment rate averaged 3.6% in 2022, the lowest since 1969.[26] The number of persons working regained the pre-pandemic peak in June 2022 after revisions, and continued to set records monthly thereafter, reaching 154.5 million by December 2022, with monthly job creation averaging a robust 400,000.[27]

In July 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported that "Household finances are as strong as they've been in decades, thanks to money saved during the pandemic, debt paid off over the past decade and a strong job market." As of Q1 2022, households had also accumulated $5 trillion more in deposit, savings and money market accounts than pre-pandemic. However, some measures of consumer sentiment indicated near record low satisfaction with the economy, mainly due to inflation.[28]

Biden said in May 2022 that "Bringing down the deficit is one way to ease inflationary pressures in an economy." The budget deficit fell by $350 billion in FY 2021. It fell by $1.4 trillion in FY 2022, about 50%, or $1.8 trillion (66%) excluding student loan forgiveness of $425 billion, which CBO had scored as spending but later was blocked by court rulings.[29]

During July 2022, there was much media discussion regarding whether the U.S. had entered a recession, despite a strong labor market with low unemployment and robust job creation.[30] The real (inflation-adjusted) GDP level fell slightly during Q1 and Q2 2022, but then rebounded in Q3 2022 to surpass the previous record level set in Q4 2021.[31] Some countries use two negative quarters as the definition of a recession. However, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is the organization that declares an economic peak and starting point of recessions in the U.S. They reference six key measures in their analyses.[32] All six measures increased from December 2021 to November 2022, signs of growth rather than recession.[33] Predictions of an imminent recession continued through 2023, but by October indicators showed economic acceleration and analysts revised their economic forecasts upward; a Wall Street Journal survey of economists that month found a recession was not foreseen in the coming twelve months.[34]

During August 2022, Biden signed into law the CHIPS and Science Act and Inflation Reduction Act.

Concerns regarding inflation resulted in the Federal Reserve raising interest rates significantly during 2022, to slow the economy, specifically the "very strong" labor market. Strong household financial positions, rapid wage growth, low unemployment, and a record ratio of open jobs to unemployed were cited by Fed officials as key inflationary concerns. The December 2022 Fed forecast projected an increase in unemployment from 3.7% in November 2022 to 4.6% by the end of 2023, with the Fed driving unemployment higher through raising interest rates and other measures.[35]

The number of persons without health insurance under age 65 fell from 31.2 million in 2020 under President Trump, to 27.0 million during the first half of 2022 under President Biden, a reduction of 3.2 million or 13%. The percentage of uninsured fell from 11.5% to 9.9% during that time. Both the number and % were record lows for data back to 1997.[36]

2023
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Average unemployment rate and real (inflation-adjusted) hourly wages by U.S. president, LBJ to Biden. As of August 2024, Biden had the best average readings for both measures among these presidents.
Widespread predictions of the economy entering a recession in 2023 proved unfounded.[37] Real gross domestic product grew 2.5% in 2023, significantly outpacing growth in all other G7 nations.[38][39][40] Real GDP growth averaged a robust 3.4% during the first three years of the Biden presidency.[41]

The labor market was strong in 2023. The unemployment rate averaged a very low 3.6% in 2023, as it had in 2022; the last year with an average 3.5% unemployment rate was 1969.[26] The number of persons with jobs continued setting records monthly as it had since June 2022 when the pre-pandemic peak was regained, reaching 157.3 million in December 2023. An average of 251,000 jobs per month were added in 2023, a total of 3.0 million.[27]

Wage gains exceeded inflation in 2023, with real (inflation-adjusted) hourly earnings for all employees increasing 0.8% from December 2022 to December 2023.[42] The inflation rate measured vs. one year earlier was 6.4% in January 2023 and 3.1% in December as the inflation rate slowed.[43] Census data released in January 2024 showed that record-high new business applications were filed in 2023, the third consecutive annual record high.[44]

CBO reported the budget deficit increased from $1,376 billion (5.4% GDP) in fiscal year (FY) 2022 to $1,695 billion (6.3% GDP) in FY 2023, an increase of $319 billion or 23%.[45]

During May, Republicans threatened to not raise the U.S. debt ceiling, risking a possible debt default. President Biden signed the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 on June 3, 2023, to avert a potential crisis. The law restricts some spending for two years, imposes new work requirements on older Americans receiving food aid, and reduces barriers to some infrastructure and energy projects.[46]

With Republicans in control of the House of Representatives, no significant economic legislation was passed. Only 27 bills were signed into law during 2023, the least since the Great Depression.[47]

In 2023, the administration also pursued lower drug prices by allowing Medicare to negotiate the prices it pays and capping the price of insulin.[2]

2024
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In 2024, the number of persons with jobs continued setting records monthly, reaching 159.3 million in November, about 7.0 million jobs above the pre-pandemic peak, which had been regained in June 2022.[5] The unemployment rate increased from 3.7% in January to 4.2% in November.[3] The stock market (S&P 500 Index) increased 29% from December 2023 to November 2024, using monthly average levels.[48] Real (inflation-adjusted) hourly wages increased from $30.29 in January to $30.57 in November, among the highest readings for data back to 1964, indicating robust purchasing power despite inflation in 2021-2022.[49]

For data through November 2024, President Biden on average had the lowest unemployment rate (4.12%) and highest real hourly wages for production & non-supervisory workers ($30.11) among presidents back to 1964.[49][3]

In 2024, Biden pushed to limit junk fees through the FTC, FCC and CFPB.[50] Biden has taken antitrust more seriously than presidents in recent memory, as seen by the work of Lina Khan at the FTC,[2] a historic court victory against Google's search monopoly, and a lawsuit to break-up Live Nation and Ticketmaster.[50]

In February 2024, the total federal government debt grew to $34.4 trillion after having grown by approximately $1 trillion in both of two separate 100-day periods since the previous June.[51] However, the ratio of debt held by the public to GDP fell from 97.1% in Q1 2021 when Biden started to 95.2% in Q2 2024, as growth outpaced debt increases.[52]

In August 2024, the DOJ filed an anti-trust lawsuit against RealPage alleging that it was allowing landlords across the United States to engage in price fixing.[53][54][55]

Key legislation
Statistical summary
Plans and legislative strategies
Biden's first budget FY 2022
COVID-19
Minimum wage
Trade
Domestic energy production
Education
Healthcare
Cryptocurrency
Unions
Taxation and deficits
Budget deficit
Theoretical economic perspectives
Public perceptions of economy

r3g3
Soooo now tell us what Biden did when trying to help the economy--time is short so make it quick.
Cmonn there must be a long list--perhaps you can start with illegal immigration---------

It’s not an exaggeration to say that the US had pretty much the best post COVID economic recovery of all western nations. Whatever the biden administration did, it worked pretty well.

Sure there was inflation. There was a global economic disruption due to a worldwide pandemic. It was unavoidable. It was not realistic to expect everything to be perfect.

What’s happening now is completely avoidable. It’s just an own goal. Sabotaging the economy is the dumbest way to accomplish… whatever it is that Trump is to accomplish.

Good luck turning those quotes into orders and keeping profits and price levels the same. Hope you stocked up on steel for your shop. The multi $B corporation that I work for has enough orders in to US mills to drive the price up alone. We are already putting surcharges on orders. Maybe you can find a mill willing to keep prices at pre Trump tariff levels and keep living like you have for the past 8 years. Good for you if you have those connections.

DOW and S&P are coming close to Covid level drop, in two days. That is definitely not normal up and down of the markets. Other counties are retaliating. Not sure when it is considered a trade war, but has to be pretty close at this point.