Topic: strange indicators to know economy is bad (Read 723 times)

When we are experiencing something that requires us to continue using what is no longer suitable for use and we have to use it, of course we are in a very bad condition in terms of income and it is also very difficult for us to find work that can give us a decent income. To be able to meet the needs we need, we have to use what we have because we can't buy anything else and we have to be very frugal in terms of expenses in order to be able to meet the needs we really need which we can't postpone any longer.

well, that may be true, and maybe that's why people look poor because of the strict savings that they do, I've seen that kind of thing during the pandemic, most of the people I know who live below average, they're the ones who have the most money and used for living during the crisis. it's not bad to be frugal especially if we know that we don't have generational wealth to look forward to when that kind of crisis comes. It's better that we know that people are learning especially when it comes to spending their money.

I must say that you have good points there, many strange things might be happening during time of economic woes. But at times, it is not strange per se, only that they are managing their lives within their means so that they will not be more burdened with financial difficulties. Also, I agree with most of what you wrote in this regard, but for a few, and one of those I do not agree with, though countries vary, is the number 2 as quoted above. I only see this as the irresponsibility of parents if their children's diapers could not be changed as and when due, that is not speaking well of such parents that would do that.

I can't imagine the diaper of my child giving him rashes due to my negligence or the uncared attitude due to economic issues, it shouldn't get to that unless the parents are just bad. They can change the diaper and let the child walk freely at home. Even with another cloth, if the child messes up with it, it is their duty to change it again. After all, it is not a big deal to wash the child's clothes over and over again unless they are just lazy. Rash is not good for little children, and some could be painfully itching, it is certainly inhumane to let that happen to a child due to economic issues. If you can't afford the quality ones or you can't have many of them, then you do it the old way, after all, that might be the way the parents of the child's parent brought them up.

It could be that we are just saving for something that we might need in the future and instead avoid overspending on wants rather than our own or family's needs. I know most of us do this and we all learned from the past so maybe this is the reason why we come up with such indexes.

Its not even about the strange happenings in the country,there's always something that declines the economy and normal living activities of people it happens everywhere.Once there's is a decline in goods and services,the cost of living changes.Because you'll have to reduce your spending rate and try to adjust in that situation.
 Economic recession hits every person;the rich,poor,middle and the pattern is always the same because people have to survive with or without the governments intervention.

I don't think aid will reduce or lower the price of each item, because it is natural that goods will increase all the time, because the amount of money is printed continuously.
The point is that if this continues, this circle will continue to occur.

You should read “The Great Taking” by David Rogers Web.
A reset fan which 1st 30% of the book is superb, while the rest kind of slides into the reset. Which view I simply don't share.
https://thegreattaking.com/  its a free download due to the need to know more.

Fortunately the solution for the US and EU Citizens caught with collateral borrowing issues. The 3rd world is not that advanced and has not found the way into  collateral borrowing. 

If I may add, I could also stand to include instant ramen index here, as well as the Pizza index.

Instant Ramen sales shoot up during economic upheavals and crashes as well as during expected disasters like typhoons and hurricanes, as people see the benefit of eating a hearty meal that would fill them up for hours for 10 cents a pack. As the economy becomes better however, less people buy it to be consumed immediately, and more to pack up for the stormy days. Incidentally this is also going to decrease demand around instant ramen unless you're a broke college student down to his last 4 bucks. Pizza index on the other hand is pretty linear, people will buy less pizza and more pizza stores are going to close during economic crashes (not to be confused with the Pizza index that a lot of restaurants figured out correlating pizza sales to upcoming issues around safety within the US borders). I saw this happen to most of my mom-and-pop pizza places within my area when lockdown was at its peak and people couldn't get out, as well as the economy crashing to the ground no thanks to COVID-19. It's quite hard for people to splurge that much cash when they are in hermit and saving mode so instead of opting for pizza, they might choose more sustainable options like healthy vegetable meals cooked inside the house. It's also worth noting that Pizza sales dwindle and may even become zilch in some cases when there is an economic crash, making it one of the most definitive ways to figure out if the economy's on the shitbox or if it could still recover.

Very relevant and makes me smile, the indicators you convey are very simple and easy to understand by various groups. For some people, economics is still difficult to understand. When explaining to other people about the economy, now I have a reference to refer to indicators that are easy to understand. It sounds strange, but it is directly proportional to reality and that is all we are experiencing at the moment. For some people who have high incomes, a recession is not a big problem, for those of us who have modest incomes it will be very difficult.

One item increase affects most of the other items, the impact of an increase in fuel prices is very broad. Almost the price of basic necessities will automatically increase, not only limited to goods, but it also impacts service providers as well. There are indeed many examples of other indicators that we could mention in a more academic form, but strange indicators like this are more interesting and more entertaining.

You ain't wrong about those subsidies during economic meltdowns. It's like trying to buy groceries with confetti – sure, it looks festive, but will it actually pay the bills? Governments are already strapped for cash when things tank, and printing more money might seem like a magic inflation wand, but it just makes everything cost more, leaving folks worse off in the long run.

So, what's the deal? Well, governments gotta help people when times are tough, but they gotta do it smart. Targeted support for the folks who need it most, maybe some help from the private sector, and even some strategic borrowing. Plus, investing in stuff that helps the economy grow in the long run, like job training or infrastructure upgrades. It's all about finding the right balance, like that sweet spot between helping people now and not messing things up for the future.

Yes, this would be more correct, because... Everyone has the right to their opinion and their own view!

But here you also need to be prepared for the fact that the assessment will also differ greatly depending on what segment of the population the person belongs to. I will assume that for very rich people, the set of criteria for assessing the state of the economy will be completely different, and perhaps somewhat surprising for us! Everything in the world is relative - for one, the indicator is holey underwear, for another, the increase in the cost of servicing a Pacific yacht or a very long queue for the delivery of an ordered personal aircraft

If a person can adopt himself in every situation then he will not afraid of inflation. Spending habit should be change according to the situations but I think a person should not spend too much money that during inflation he regret for his past.

Wise person will always save some amount for emergency and other purpose because bad condition never says anything before arrival so try to be ready for all type of situation and don't spend more money on those materials which are not needed to sustain life.

That's right, and even those who have the means in life are experiencing a severe crisis in their lives today due to the constant increase in prices and expenses. Any country is actually experiencing inflation today. Shouldn't it be that when experiencing something like that, companies must also increase the wages of their workers so that what they are paid is balanced with what they spend every day. Nowadays, it's really necessary to be practical but it's up to you how you manage your money and income properly.

The whole world is in economic recession.  Currency commemoration has created more problems in developing countries.  Developing countries are not able to overcome the shock of Covid-19.  And when a country or a person goes through an economic recession, there will definitely be a huge gap between their previous life and their next life.  Everything has gone up in price so everyone is now looking for savings in everything from their daily essentials to practical and entertainment items.  And it is normal to do this too if someone used to live a month with 50 dollars now it ends in 15 days.

They are all great and fun indexes, but when I read the diaper index, I thought about what our parents did or what their parents did. There were no diapers in their time.

This is the wealth of nations. We eat the cream of the crop of the movement that they worked so hard to create, but then we go through periods when we realize that we are the owners of wealth that we don't really deserve. Then we go back and see the hardships that the real owners of this wealth went through.

So basically when I read through your indicators, then I see one thing that explain all those things. People scale down on spending on things that are seen as "luxuries".. the non-essential things that we could afford, before the global economy went sideways.

People are going into survival mode now, because high inflation and lower wages are killing the consumer. The middle class are suffering the most, because they are carrying the majority of the tax burden and they get no support from the government. (Rich people feel the pinch, but they have more leg room to still live a luxurious lifestyle. 

If we are in a bad economic condition, of course it will be very difficult to meet the needs we need, even buying underwear is very difficult to buy, so we have to use what we have even though it has holes in it, but we still think it is still good because it is still very difficult to make ends meet. basic needs that are needed, because if we cannot meet the basic needs that we need, of course it will be very difficult for us to live our lives.
Yes, it would be better for us to meet our needs first and wear what we can even though we already have holes in our underwear.

This is funny but it is true because this is what I've noticed mostly in my relatives who are earning minimum. Usually other relatives will say to buy a new underwear as it has holes in it but they always say that it is still in good condition because they have no budget for it and they prioritize their needs. I can relate to this as sometimes when it is still not needed to buy I won't purchase it because I do want to put more budget on food due to its high price.

The thoughts you convey are very real and quite logical because from what I see in the lives of the people around me, most people will often make changes when they start to know about the bad economic conditions in several countries. So they will all find their own way to make adjustments in any case, especially in terms of shopping and using money in a structured way in their respective lives. But what's really surprising is that people don't want to change when they know about it and tend to ignore the bad things that have happened elsewhere.

how about just say your own index's
a. ikea index
b. glue index - fix broken cups instead of buying new cups
c. doctor visit index
d. hat index - it means there is a problem with heating
e. cheap carb index - but little veg,fruit and meat
f. quality medicine index - Withdrawal from quality medicines
g. utility debt - inability to pay for basic utilities.
h. needle/thread index - self-repair of clothes instead of buying new ones
i. recreation index - Reducing expenditures on recreation and entertainment

I both agree and disagree
1. hammer & screwdriver index: people preferring to do DIY instead of calling a repairman
Partly debatable. For example, furniture from Ikea or Jusk - isn't it nice to assemble furniture in a country house with your own hands? It's another matter if you glue broken cups together because you can't buy them ...

2. band-aid index: for countries without free national health care, prefer to sort injuries themselves instead of visiting a doctor.
I agree for the most part. Doctors are doctors to make the right diagnosis and prescribe the right treatment. Self-medication is a bad option.
 
3. woolly sweater index: people wear thick clothing at home instead of using the central heating
A controversial index I know that in northern countries it is normal not to turn on the radiators 100% and just wear warmer clothes at home. It's more a matter of habit. But if people wear hats at home, it means there is a problem with heating, or rather the ability to pay for this service.

4. hand-me-down index: people getting thrifty/charitable with clothing instead of buying new
Reasonable consumption is normal ! Buying a bunch of goods to throw half of them away is not logical and wrong.

5. dish-cloth diaper index: using re-usable washable fabric as diaper/sanitary pads instead of commercial single use products.
I agree, this is an indicator of lack of money and difficult economic situation, because these are essential goods, and in a normal situation they are available and not expensive.

I would add :
- change of food basket and diet - shift to cheap food, including concentrates, where there are a lot of carbohydrates and starches, but little vegetables, fruits and meat.
- Withdrawal from quality medicines
- inability to pay for basic utilities.
- self-repair of clothes instead of buying new ones
- Reducing expenditures on recreation and entertainment

I think some persons in thier best knowledge knows and understands how to adjust,manage and tackle themselves in such a financial situation.Once they noticed the economy is bad or there is an economic failure in the country that needs attention,they'll literally change their spending habits,they'll surely look forward to save more,increase their emergency fund.But in all of these,just ensure that whatever you do,make sure you've accumulated enough capacity and ability to cater and survive during that financial rough patch.

seem practical to the have-nots. but if the middle class is already doing all these, definitely a sign.
in the family, someone has to become a handyman in the house fixing fences and tubes under their sink just by googling solutions. we can do it ourselves these days even the appliances that only need a soldering iron can save you from spending money.

there was an incident in the neighborhood where someone slipped due the the garbage just scattered around, his palm was slashed by a piece of glass so he just wrapped it with a piece of cloth for several days til it started healing but surely it needed stitching.


another is

cheap gifts index: people give cheap gifts after all it's the thought that counts.


ctto

having a lil think..

hammer & screwdriver index: people preferring to do DIY instead of calling a repairman
band-aid index: for countries without fre national health, prefer to sort injuries themselves instead of visiting a doctor
woolly sweater index: people wear thick clothing at home instead of using the central heating
hand-me-down index: people getting thrifty/charitable with clothing instead of buying new
dish-cloth diaper index: using re-usable washable fabric as diaper/sanitary pads instead of commercial single use products

This is also what I've noticed. Even though it is disgusting, others will clean it with soap and water and again it can be worn again. It is a disposable one, but they will reuse it because it is expensive to buy a new one. Even some of my relatives, I do see them buying the diapers cheaper than they used to buy them before because of the price and even others will now be using a cloth and making it like a diaper just to save money. I've noticed everything is not the same as before. Even now that it's Christmas, you can't see lights at the houses because it's very expensive, as well as the electricity. They will spend more on other necessities than buying those decorations.

Is all of these real studies? I am giggling just by reading this LOL. I know the price of Oil and basic goods will raise because of the inflation and other stuff, but determining the economic condition by Boobs Job, Diaper, and Men Haircut sounds so comedic. I really wish to read more about this theory if you care to share the literatures.

hyperinflation sounds like Zimbabwe already. right now we are still not in that condition yet. but high prices make regular people poorer. in my country the price of onions shoots up to 300% increase these are the kind of stuff that is needed daily.

another indicator is the rise of crimes like hijacking FedEx delivery trucks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vt6T-xMVAk
when you expect something to be delivered today and the delivery is delayed for hours, something must have happened.

Hyperinflation, is a most noticeable sign that the economy is in the worst situation, the reason, well the one that I can blame is a corrupt government, wars (any kind), because all the government and rich people wants power, in a bad way.

That's why this world where we live in will never have the peace and success that all of us will attain, because we have different goals, and most of the powerful people in the world just wanted to show how powerful they are that they can destroy a country just because they wanted its resources or anything that will benefit them.

The recent surge in mass layoffs and the subsequent struggles of displaced workers are indeed stark signs of the ongoing economic downturn. These individuals, who once held decent-paying jobs with promising retirement plans, are now forced to juggle multiple jobs just to make ends meet, a situation that highlights the severe impact of the recession.

However, the most concerning aspect is the persistent denial among economists and politicians regarding the existence of a recession. Despite overwhelming evidence, they refuse to acknowledge the reality, a move that could potentially delay or hinder effective measures to address the crisis.

Their reluctance to accept the reality of the recession stems from the fear of taking responsibility and the lack of clear solutions. Acknowledging a recession would necessitate action, and they lack the necessary expertise or political will to devise effective solutions.

their measures that are used to know a bad economy and among all these measure increases in products are under one of the measures and when they talk about the economy of a country, one of the things they consider is the well being of that country, things like the employment rate the GDP, the income how well do people earn and do their earnings meet up with their needs and how well they do in term of manufacturing and many more so if many countries lack these things then it will affect the shape of the countries economy, and the price of things are manipulated by marketers some times and there are limited companies so demand is low and supply is high and that is why things keep adding up.

yeah, and they keep you in one place and pay you a small amount of money at the end of the month, and expect you to be always available at work in my country just to increase the minimum wage is a problem I wonder how some people survive with that amount of money, after spending so many years in schools, and you look at the so-called salaries and politicians are their making serious money with no serious work compared to civil servants.

10) femal sanitary pad index: due to the high cost of living in the economy, the female gender don't really mind using tissue paper instead of sanitary pad

Things are really getting costlier by the day, and it is gradually taking us back to the early 70s or 80s which people leave there lives without minding anything. The petrol pump price has increased to and extent that many people no longer drive there cars anymore. They now board public transport.

People hardly feed three square meal a day. Most people have graduated since many years ago, but to find a job that they will use to keep the family moving has become a problem. The economic situation is really bad. But no matter what happens we will keep on moving and working hard till we achieve our goal. Since we can not stop the bad economy we would just work hard to scale through the bad situation.

even bigmac meal today according to the recent news will also cost $18.  https://nypost.com/2023/07/19/mcdonalds-branch-slammed-for-charging-18-for-a-big-mac-meal/
they are still operating though which is a good thing for this fastfood restaurant, they said it's because they also approved the increase in the minimum wage of its workers.

you'd still be lucky if you could buy and cook. i learned from my cousins they were already planning to just go fishing and keep even the small size fish. it's illegal but gotta do what they gotta do.

It is even worse than that, it is not that people have money and they are refusing to spend it, people simply do not have money and they need to learn how to make more with less, since they are not paid the same as before and everything is more expensive.

And it makes sense that restaurants as a whole are one of the first sectors to be affected by an economic crisis, after all restaurants sell their dishes for a price many times higher than what they paid themselves for the ingredients to make the food, and when people have to cut costs, eating at a restaurant is one of the first expenses to go, since you can eliminate it and replace it by just cooking your own food.

Unfortunately the world changes constantly, and the news and the online world are getting to a level where they are brainwashing people to be against each other, instead of being against the reason. There are a lot more billionaires now, and they keep talking about how that is due to inflation, and yet the minimum wage worker is not making all that much more, and in cases they do, they still do not live better, and yet the rich does.

The issue is that back in the day, "minimum wage" meant that you should be able to live with that, you could have a house (rent or bought doesn't matter) and be able to eat food that is not only the cheapest ever you can find, you can send your kids to school, basically live a decent life.

This idea is so crazy to people right now, someone with minimum wage, be able to afford healthcare, education, food, house, maybe even a cheap car, you should all get that, there shouldn't be a single people.

And yet, in the world we live, people die because they couldn't afford a medicine, does that even make sense to you? Like pharma company wanted profit, so it didn't sell affordable, so people died, in order to make that pharma company more profit, is that even logical? That's insane, and yet the reality.

those are all indeed strange indicators but I guess when economy is getting worst and worst by the day anything related to being consumtive would definitely decrease, its not necessarily all these strange indexes but anything that cause you to pay bill you will reduce it, therefore it might be better to call it reduction of money circulation around the people when economy getting worst because people are not eager to spend money in difficult times.
I even have found some strange indicator as well like when the economy was bad, so few people are actually going to some restaurant but instead going to kfc and mcdonalds because their cheap junk food are the best at difficult times.
the restaurant are becoming irrelevant because people think of it as unnecessary when you can find something to fill your belly for few dollars why come to restaurant and empty your wallets.

I think I will go on with your indexes here rather than in OP's indicators.  
Anyway, we all have our own indicators if we are experiencing some economic downturn.
But one thing for sure is that we are more attentive with our expenses if we know we have limited resources.
Also, those indicators will depend on where you are in the world and your economic status as we have different needs.

We should always consider the inflation rate, unemployment rate, poverty rate, natality and mortality rate, natural disasters, war and human productivity under division of labor, all these will give us some accurate level or indications to read the economy progress and lapses in other to be able to deduce the causes and remedy to all these, gover also has alot to play in making the economy run as expected because one of the people it would first favour is them

Giving attention to the prices of the products we buy itself an indicator that the economic situation is not good there, and some of the indicators you mentioned are really strange though and I don't think we can still use them in the present day to assess the economic situation. For example, diaper rash, which is considered to be a priority for the parents no matter what, and if they are in a position to can't afford then they cut down other expenses, not the diapers.

These are the sort of things you'll see in the book "freakonomics" which is a fascinating insight into these sort of abstract and unexpected indicators. However the way you're framing some of these is a bit misleading, take the diaper example - I think the majority of parents want what is best for their children and try to provide for them as much as possible, so it's probably the fact that they simply cannot afford expensive diapers during downturns rather than treating their children badly - of course they mind. However these historical indicators are often hard to judge and we only see them long after the recession has set in, plus they can be hard to differentiate between ever changing consumer habits.

I did know that such indicators exist. They are not entirely strange bit I would call them less common indicators. From off the top of my head, some other less likely indicators include -
- cellular call index- people may make less call during a recession to save money on cal bills
- brothel index- people are less likely to visit brothels and strip clubs during a recession.
- shortlet index -hotels and rental businesses are affected. Less travels and sleepovers.
- gambling/casino index- people gamble less or restrict their gambling activities during an economic downturn.

Well said, but I don't think citizens trying to leave the country is all because of the bad economy, although it might be contributory from a broader perspective. It might be for other reasons as includes, medical trip/tour, attending conventions or participation in events  in another country.
Still, gas prices becomes high, the currency may loose some value as well even in forex and exchange rates hike. Unemployment in these times might lead to a life of crime to survive, and that's s good indicator of how bad and intolerable the economy is at the time.

I'll just leave here the statistics of the countries with the highest proportion of bicycles per unit of population. It's enough to realize that the idea that "where people ride bicycles, poor people live" is not true.

JAPAN 126.8 million, population of the country
72.5 million, number of bicycles in the country
56.9% of bicyclists in the population

SWEDEN 8.42 mln, population of the country
3.8 million, number of bicycles in the country
48.8% of cyclists in the population

Denmark 5.7 million, country population
4.5 million, number of bicycles in the country
90% of cyclists in the population

THE NETHERLANDS 17.1 million, population 16.5 million, number of bicycles in the country 90% of bicyclists in the population
16.5 million, number of bicycles in the country
99.1% of cyclists in the population

CHINA 1.4 billion, population of the country
500 million, number of bicycles in the country
37.2% of the population bicycles

USA 327 million, population
100 million, number of bicycles in the country
32.2% of the population bicycles

NEW ZEALAND 4,8 million, national population
2,3 million, number of bicycles in the country
41% bicyclists among the population


PS in the 90s in my country, there was a mass purchase of heavy gold chains, expensive watches, etc. "indicators" of a rich life. In fact, it was just an attribute of criminals and/or people earning a lot of money not very legally, and many people imitated them to give themselves the status of "rich" )
The same can be said about buying new iPhones on credit, in very poor countries. This is not an indicator of a high standard of living, it is an option to artificially raise their status, no more than that.....

netflix is just a new platform. the popcorn index must have been created long before Netflix arrived. mostly are debatable but it's all really connected to how much money the people have in their accounts. like you wouldn't really risk yourself riding your bike at night when you could be safer and comfortable with your sedan. but because saving for gas makes sense when a person is jobless due to mass layoff, he'd likely use his bro's bike.

but they are all associated with the bad economy like the Luxury watch index where Rolex sales drive up especially when professionals earn their bonuses. 

I don't think anyone needs to tell me that the economy is bad when your purchasing power stop dropping, the irony of the matter is that the price of goods would increase more than 100% and the economist would be telling you that the inflation is just 20%, here in my country price of most good s have increased more than 100% in the last 1 year, and you still read that the inflation is 20%, I think we are in a strange world

Really funny and interesting but why are you looking strange indicators like those which isn't complete and accurate measure of the economic state of any country. Where I am from we aren't the cinema freaks and you can actually use the cinema turn up to judge the nation's economy rather the most accurate indicators are.
+ The state of our currency
+ Our fuel price
+ The state of our transportation system (spike or drop in transportation price)
+ Medical services and definitely the amount of citizens Trying to leave the country.

Quite debatable arguments To be more precise - according to this scheme, almost any indicator can be associated with a bad economy or... on the contrary, with good trends.

For example, I will paraphrase some of your indicators
1. buttered popcorn index - people go to the movies no matter how bad it is. they just go to the movies to take their minds off their problems. but when the economy is bad, just sit back and watch Netflix.
No. It's a good indicator - people are able to buy Netflix service, have their own comfortable homes and quality TV, which is more comfortable to watch sitting in a warm robe on a comfy couch

2. plastic surgery index. The plastic surgery index usually goes down during hard times because women don't pay attention to how small their breasts are than during an economic boom. 
No. The standard of living is good and women's health is higher, they don't need to unnaturally correct their bodies as they have proper nutrition, good medicine, healthy diet.

3- Lipstick index: women will not spend much money on expensive lipsticks, so lipstick sales will be poor compared to the time when savings are high.
No. In some countries, with a high standard of living, I have observed that women consider themselves naturally beautiful, and do not seek to beautify themselves with excessive makeup.

4. Bicycle fatality index - during economic crisis, people often use bicycles or can't afford cars, so more bicycle accidents occur.
No. it's just that people prioritize environmental friendliness and healthy lifestyles by bicycling. That said, high accident rates can only be attributed to low levels of responsibility and not following the rules of the road.

5. Men's underwear index - men, especially single men, don't mind wearing underwear with a couple holes in it, no one can see it anyway. men buy less underwear during economic downturns.
No. It's more of a personal hygiene and unkemptness issue since underwear is not expensive

6. Garbage Index - less garbage because people buy less when the economy is bad and buy more when times are good, so there is more garbage everywhere.
No. Less waste means people are more careful with products, not to save money, but to overcome "consumer addiction", so the standard of living and consciousness is higher.

Usually companies lay off their employees to avoid excessive costs so that the company does not go bankrupt and can continue to survive longer. So the company that lays off some of its employees is certainly based on reasons that are quite clear and also quite reasonable, especially if the aim is to cut costs that the company itself considers excessive. And the factors for this can also vary, even though one of them is what you said. But there are also other factors that can cause this to happen, such as a lack of sales of their products so that the company does not get more profits, causing excessive difficulties.

The issue of competition is quite an important issue for all companies, whether local companies or foreign companies, because every company that wants to develop quickly must have a competitive strategy that is mature enough to make its competitors lose. So local companies should not be pessimistic about this as long as they have a better strategy to face existing competition, because now is the time to compete if they want to progress and develop better.

The economic downturn is a biased situation that brings about downfalls and limitations to human services and exchanges that also could bridge about appreciatable lifelines where as the poor can't afford to qualify demands even if it is not one of the expensive demands.
No one was meant to be denied good health, good educations, good foods, living and having smiles on the face but the reigns of economy downturn has ruined it all.
The resultants of economy downturn is a service that has offered the masses disruptions towards their endivoirs or engagements and also brings about relationship bridges and also gets the poor irresponsible reputations that they are unable to take response to their responsibilities.

Economic downturn has insighted the masses of two main mental effects which are:
* Mental breakdowns that has got the masses settling for less, taking whatever situations and conditions they finds themselves.

* Embracing of poverty because they already gets used to poor beings.

* Depreciation of ones sensitive and creative potentials.

* Inspirations to negative indulgences and also as suicidal optioning.Etc.

I can verily say that the atrocities in the world today is advanced majorly as a resultant that economy downturns is brought. People just have to survive at all means and that is why it is said that life is a survival of the fittest.

Here we go again. The third world countries. It suddenly feels we are afflicted by everything negative and nothing positive ever comes this way. Once there is a negative attribute, it’s easy to find a third world country numbering amongst the afflicted. Such is the case and such is life but then, even the developed world were once here and never felt the impact as it’s felt today (so we are meant to believe).

While I see a lot of the index as at above strange, I can’t completely disagree with them nor will I be both arms open in agreement.

In the eyes of a depreciating economy, people tend to be more conservative and place value on little things than they would have in a more thriving economy.

That is the reason Argentinians purchased bricks when they had cash because they knew their paper cash would lose its value due to inflation. This type of scenario occurs when there is an extreme level of corruption in the government and underqualified people sit on chairs where they shouldn't be. Just look at what happens with pakistan and srilanka. Perhaps we can bring forth another brick index.

In my country we are going to have a similar scenario. I am saying this because people's are eating less meat and non-vegetarian food which are the primary food consumed by our people. Maybe this is a good way to judge a countries economical situation by analysis the change of its people's lifestyle.

In my opinion, salaries should be measured by the minimum wage standard in an area, if our salary is several times the minimum wage, then I think we can live decently, but most people have a high lifestyle, so any salary seems not enough to cover it. . therefore everyone's standard of living is different, it would be a shame if we lived only according to prestige, because most of what happens is like this

How much the economic condition of a person worse but he will always concentrate on a his children's health because there is nothing important than the life of his children. If economic situations are not good then it does not mean that a child will use only a single daiper in a whole day because there are lots of other ways through which children can make comfortable and healthy.

The price of each and everything is getting increase therefore we can simple indicate poor economy through the higher price and lower salaries. One can hardly manage their home expenses but I think that there is a solution to everything. We should keep our children healthy by accepting different ways because if we constantly use one way which is expensive then surely we will face troubles.

I think that a bad economy is not only measured in the rise of the price of the goods, but there might also be other indicators to know it. On many well-developed countries, the price of their items are also high but their economy was still in a healthy condition. I know it's crazy but I think an increase in the price of the goods might also be beneficial to those people behind them or to the ones who create/produced them and to the economy in general, so we should also think about this before we complain.

In terms of salary, I think this doesn't has to do with the economy most of the times, but it only has to do with the company that you are working with. You better switch jobs and find a better paying one.

Massive layoffs are indeed a concerning sign of economic distress. When companies are forced to let go of their employees, this indicates that they are struggling financially. This can make a ripple effect to the economy, because it reduces consumer spending and further strains businesses that rely on those laid-off workers as customers.

The inability of local producers to compete with foreign companies can intensify the economic downturn. We are In an era when local businesses face fierce competition from companies in other countries. If local producers cant match the prices or quality of their foreign counterparts, they may lose customers and struggle to stay afloat.

It's also what is happening in my country. there are hundreds to thousands of nurse/engineering graduates only to find themselves working for BPO companies. it must be for the reason they won't be idled. parents must have accepted this already and find nothing wrong with being under-employed when there are just a few companies in our country. these graduates are hired more in the Middle East though. there is no recession in that region, the oil kept the economy alive.

underemployment is another indicator. they would rather just fill the vacant position despite skills not fitting the job description.

The number of overqualified job applications, in Turkish lands for example where the country has been in a perpetual state of high unemployment and high inflation since the last 20 years,

10,000 college graduates will apply to even the most basic jobs with minimum wage or just marginally above minimal wage;

also most of these people are not doing the jobs they studied for in college, teachers becoming police officers, public administration graduates becoming cleaning staff, etc.

It easier said than living it. You when a person is used to a particular lifestyle of glamour and luxury it's really difficult to cut all of those lifestyle off within a short moment, even if you want to, you wouldn't do away with all of it all, the their absence in your life will make life look boring and sad for you.

For instance, someone that's like a custom all her life going to the cinema to see movies, going on vacations at least twice in a year, and so on. If you have cut all of these from the lives of the person, am sure it's going to affect their lifespan as their countenance will never be again as it were when they where still having those lifestyle in place.

But, the best thing to do in times like this where the recession is bitting hard each day is to cut off certain living patterning that are expensive to keep up with, it might be hard to cope with but it's what the times demands even if it's easier said than living it.

Let the dead bury their dead, this doesn't mean they have to be given expensive funeral ceremony. We can do it in a low-key and interment will be done without having to spend so much. I think it people that gives so much priority to this burial of a thing that goes on making it a big occasion which then attraction so much expenses.

But those are basic needs, universal for everyone, so people would really complain if they become expensive. Although some individuals have vices in life that could lead to financial struggles, we cannot relate that to the problem, as it requires a personal approach on an individual basis. The problem is quite general; hence, the solution needs to be for everyone. At the end of the day, our government does not engage in a blame game here; they have to find a specific solution to the problem.

Ahh, something important that I wanted to mention while I was reading the OP. I am not sure how they mentioned to forget it but it is one of the biggest index. Most of the western countries are getting hampered with it in the initial days and then the wave came down to tier 3 Country. Due to production and manufacturing based industries things are getting worst as it scales down due to less demand in the market. Slowly this is affecting the service based industry which is mostly in the tier 3 zone. This way many of them loosing their jobs. An industry like Reliance which houses millions of jobs around the globe also had scale down their number of employees by 100 thousand.  This is heartbreaking but this is the actual index we are looking at.

If peeps are loosing the job then they are loosing the power to buy and sell things on daily basis. In turn small and medium businesses go down with that. Perishable market is worst hit because they can’t keep the material for long and since no one is there to buy it, it goes to waste.

The worst market situation.

OP, where did you get this list of strange indexes? Would you mind sharing with us a link to the source of information?
The people can cut their spending and consumption in times of high inflation, not just when the recession hits the economy.
When everything becomes more expensive, the demand for luxurious goods and services goes down. I'm sure that we can survive during a tough economy with less expenses for haircuts, underwear, not visiting cinemas or buying stuff we usually don't need.
The most brutal index is the "morgue" index. Funerals are also getting so damn expensive nowadays and it's a shame that many poor people can't afford a decent funeral for their dead relatives.

Massive layoff of workers is an important indicator of an ailing economy but this is usually caused by companies going bankrupt. When the economy there will be less patronage from the citizens because they have less doubt to spend. Local producers might not be able to compete with competitors outside the country this will lead to the crumble of many businesses.

A bad economy will encourage people to sell belongings to survive. There was a time in my country when people were disposing of landed properties because they could not afford to maintain them and they also needed the proceeds to survive. Another sign of an unhealthy economy is an increase in the number of unmaintained houses in the country. People will prefer to survive than to keep properties.

A high rate of scams is an offshoot of bad economic conditions. Technically sound young citizens will start using these computer skills negatively. Many coders, software engineers, web designers, and others will use these skills to facilitate internet scammers. People will always be victims because they are desperate to make money to survive.

This is a funny thread indeed. Despite that what the Op wrote is real, but it still do appear comic. Especially when OP listed things like inability to change men underwear and so on.
Almost what OP wrote is happening in our present time, so it is safe to say that we are in a great economic downturn.

To me, what I used to know about a bad economy is the amount of start ups that failed. People hardly start business and when they do, it doesn't work for many. This is a sign of bad economy. Either the economy is not smooth to start biz or the business man uses his profits and even capital to sustain himself and the family.

If your child is still young, that's fine. Because I'm a parent, I'll do the same because they can't really appreciate the things you give them. Then you're just being practical; why would we buy a brand new one if he doesn't have awareness of whether he's using a new or an old one?

That's true; I believe in the approach of a parent like you because I have experienced it myself. Only buy what we know will not hurt our hearts when we give it to our children.

thats why i often heard these telemarketers move from one BPO company to another in less than a month just constantly receiving these gift baskets. i don't know if they were doing it but it looks easy to just attend the job interview, pass the exam, be hired the same day to receive the gift basket, and then be AWOL the next day because of attending another job interview.

but the mass layoffs also is just one indicator that is happening to even the most successful company.

Number 7's a little misleading, if you're a man, regardless of if you're the richest bloke in town or the town laughingstock, you'd only buy underwears WHEN YOU REALLY REALLY NEED IT, and I mean when the holes in the front couldn't cover your dingdong anymore lol. Kiddings aside, I've got a few strange indicators as well.

Jobs offering new and lucrative ways to attract people into their company. I've seen a lot of BPOs in the Philippines offer stupid "incentives" for getting hired in their company, some give gift baskets that you could easily buy for like 10 bucks outside, and Gift Checks for shopping as well as digital cash that you can spend. The more creative a company is when it comes to offering rewards and incentives to new hires, the more shitty the economy is going is the standard.

Thanks OP for updating these probable causes of good and bad economic situations, but I think that you focused on the surface indicators rather than the root causes of bad economy. I'll categorize root causes of bad economy, the internal and external factors. I'll just summarize, the internal factor is bad governance, when a country has incompetent leaders and corrupt officials, the result is what OP mentioned. External factors are when oil price is hiked as a result of some OPEC decisions, when there's war, crises or disagreement with countries that a country depends on for import, the result can be the same bad indicators that are mentioned.

Increase in thrift item - there will be more thrift items available for sale as more people will want to sell off their properties, and there will also be more people willing to patronize thrift vendors.

Increase in crime rate and insecurity - This is another indicator, there will be more people who are willing to go into crime so that they can at least have a meal.

Increase rate in the shutdown of small businesses because of low profit.

All these op had mentioned are not a strong signal that the economy is bad and people need to adjust. We need to remember that there are sometimes when we tend to spend less even knowing that we have sufficient funds to spend. There are many things that can make us to reduce our spending allowing the reduction in many of the factors op had listed.

Just like we know that there is war in Ukraine and other part of the middle east. Donations, death tolls, humanitarian services can make people reduce the way they spend or reduce their expenses just to send funds to other regions that needed it most. Cutting out expenses do not mean the economy is bad or we are financially broke.

Well first of all gas/oil prices are now down considerably, at least here in the United States.  Also, inflation has drastically gone down as well.  Gas prices are around or under three dollars in my states at the moment and the rate of inflation has gone from like 9.5% to roughly 3%.  So..things are getting much better.  Not to mention the stock markets have been performing quite well.  You do have some interesting points, and I agree with some of them.  Some however I just think are the actions of people who don't know any better, or would do the same thing regardless of an economic downturn.

I thought you were going to write some technical indicators to monitor the economy then without reading I thought why would a normal person give a try to this technical indicator while a normal person can already judge the severity of the economic situation by just watching the news and buying and selling things with his own hands.

And when I read the post, I realized you were also talking about the same thing. The economy is also bad when you think banks are everything, and it will be bad when you think war is the only option, it will be good if you are giving treats to your friends frequently. But in all scenarios, the situation of one person can totally be different from other people.

Like, for one person, the current economic situation might be a good one but for the other person, it might not be the same as for the first person. That's because there is a chain of people where every person doing different jobs with different pay rates and the ones that are no earning in local fiat instead earning in foreign countries then they are likely lesser effected by the economy and to them economy is not bad.

what about this. parents send their kids to their grandparents in order for them to attend 2 jobs so they could meet ends. grandparents neglect the kid's diaper. they run around the house while wet poop dripping.

another strange indicator is the crocodile farm index, these farms are shutting down during an economic crash for there are no orders for crocodile skins for bags and shoes. these farms let go of their crocs to the California rivers too.  

In some moments you are wrong. For example, that parents will tolerate a full diaper for a child if hard times come. Children are the most important thing we have, and even if everything is five times worse, then good parents will give the last thing they have just to make their child feel good and comfortable. Any parent knows this, and everyone who has children agrees with me.

A sufficient indicator of the poor situation in the economy is the rise in prices. This has always been and will always be, and this is enough to understand everything.

I find this very hilarious, I guess if there is a board for funny threads, this would have been one of the best posts on that board. How do you even come about this statistic? Well, let me add mine.
strange indicators to know an economy is bad.

• increased number of pregnant women, as the only remedy to a broke couples frustration becomes making out.
• fighting in the street

• fewer number of persona in the bank
• number of bearded men increases

Strange economic indicators indeed  .
During economic problems, we have more out-of-school children because parents will not be able to pay school fees. These children will be seen on the streets hawking wares to assist the family economically.

There is also a high rate of beggars on the streets. When people don't have jobs due to unemployment, they turn to begging to survive. The crime rate also increases because of unemployment. The rate of armed robbery, kidnappings and even killings increases because unreasonable people want to survive.  

There is also a low marriage childbirth rate. Singles prefer to remain alone because they cannot afford to take care of wives or children. Many bachelors in China are single because of the high cost of living.

A high migration rate is another proof that the economy is not favourable. People will prefer to move to countries with better economic conditions when their home economy is facing challenges. Professionals like medical practitioners, IT personnel and other specialized skilled individuals will move to other countries where they can earn higher or get a higher standard of living.

Public unrest is another cardinal pointer of economic downturn, there is usually protest and strike by workers to express dissatisfaction about the economic hardship.

Interesting indicators in the OP, I wasn’t aware of a lot of them. There are indicators that can help you know if the economy is in bad shape. One key indicator is the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth rate. A decline or stagnation in GDP suggests an economic slowdown. Unemployment rates are obviously clear. An increase in joblessness signifies a struggling economy. Stock market performance, consumer spending, inflation rates & business confidence are important indicators to consider. Monitoring these factors will give you a better understanding of the overall health of the economy.

In my view, usually if circumstances force it, in this case inflation, people will naturally be moved to survive. It's up to us whether we still want to relax with the situation or we always want to look for work (in debt) like that always.

So, are there still jobs that are relaxed but have a big salary ?

You're mostly mention about secondary needs which is correct since if a country has a good economy, many people willing to spend their money for secondary needs.

But I like the garbage index, it's make sense as the more garbage = more spending. The drawback is garbage index only can be used in a discipline country e.g. Japan where all of the people taught to dispose garbage on a right place, if people are still throwing garbage in anywhere, the result is bias.

Lol.

Well, that's the kind of crisis we are going through but what surprises me even more is all these points which you have mentioned applies to working class or middle class people wherein elites don't even give a damn regardless of situation there lifestyle continues as it is and yeah people cutting down on unnecessary expenditure is the only way to cope up with the rising inflation and bad economy unless one has multiple stream of income which increases as per the price of commodities.

Only losers don't know how to adjusts to the situation according to th economical needs and end up in debt trap.

Is there a way that all of them are summarized into one index because they seem to be many to look out for and at the same time I am sure that these indices have some sort of similarity to actually help as an indicator to the progress of the economy. I got to say though that these indices are definitely strange but in terms of being strange, I believe that there's still no one that's goin to beat the Waffle House Index it's not an economic indicator per se as they are a measure for the devastation of an area where a said Waffle House Index but if you reach the last one in the scale, it can be technically an indicator of the economic activity.

The most obvious indication of the recession was the mass firings that happened over the past 1+ year (lay off season) and all those people who had lost their decent paying jobs with good retirement plans were forced to get one or two jobs to be able to earn what they were earning in their previous singular job!

The worst part of all this is not the recession itself, it is the economists and politicians that refuse to accept the facts even when they hit them in the face. That's because if they admit recession they'd have to do something about it and they don't know what to do. For one they need the energy prices to go back down to $30-$40 for oil for example which is not in their control and they are too incompetent to think of any other way!

Yes. strange but True. If this is what is conveyed there is no word about inflation, especially when it comes to cigarettes and drinking coffee, we as men, especially active smokers can at least endure it, especially if we try to stop because of inflation, at most we can only last 1 hour. ..he, he, I really avoid the two things above, gambling or alcoholic drinks that you mentioned and don't do the things above.

And who is going to pay for those massive subsidies? After all if the people are suffering because of the economic downturn then you can be sure governments also have their own fair share of problems as they are not getting as much money in taxes anymore, so it is not like as if they have the money on hand to do this.

And if they were to print money to pay for those subsidies then that is only a short term solution, as sooner or later inflation will take place, eroding the newfound purchasing power of the people in just a matter of months.

It's funny but it has some kernels of truth. However, it could also be about priority or perhaps irresponsibility. I had an uncle who has the money, but he chose to wear second-hand clothes he bought very cheaply. On the other hand, there are also a lot of people complaining about the rising prices of as basic a need as food and yet they don't even trim down their expenses on cigarettes or gambling or alcohol.

Poverty in my country is rampant but sometimes you can't easily tell because even poor young children have 2 smart phones. A family living in a slum owns a huge flat screen smart TV, can spend the entire day drinking rum and singing on a karaoke, and so on.

I agree with your opinion, if people have to be more independent in making their economy better, because by hoping that the government can help our economy, it doesn't necessarily mean that the government can channel it appropriately so if we don't think for ourselves then we won't be able to meet our own needs. ourselves, so it would be better for us to do it ourselves to improve our own economic situation.

I think everyone has a different way of using the income they have, but if we have enough income then it would be better for us to take care of ourselves so that we don't become a conversation among other people about our appearance.

That's really the situation, especially in third-world countries. Inflation can't be stopped, especially when the economy isn't progressing.

I used to watch a movie once a week with my mom and grandma before the pandemic, but now there are no more free movies for them. Fortunately, I have the internet and share a Netflix account with a friend.
Getting a haircut is important to me; I get one every month because it's hot in this tropical area. There's still a place where I can get a haircut for 1 to 2 dollars, so it's still affordable.
Bike accidents are not common here; motorcycle accidents are still more prone.
To save money, I don't wear underwear, especially when I'm just at home. I'm used to it. But I prefer boxers over briefs.
The garbage situation is given, especially in places with no proper rules or laws for garbage disposal.

In today's time, if you're not practical, there won't be any positive change or progress in your financial status.

I think that is a tricky decision. If they can't control how much money is in the market, it can go south quickly and will just increase inflation like what happened in Argentina iirc. At some point, people need to become creative on their own so they don't rely on the government to survive for a while. I guess this is where natural selection comes into play.

Weirdly enough, I stopped taking regular haircuts a few years ago. My reason is just laziness though, quite different from the Japanese I guess. On the other hand, the price to get a basic haircut does increase here. Things are getting expensive.

You gave examples of many conditions that can be a sign that the economy is bad, all of these signs show that the characteristic of a bad economy is a decrease in people's purchasing power.

However, if economic conditions continue to worsen, what will happen next will be food shortages, mass panic and riots. In conditions like this, the state, through its economic department, must issue economic policies that can help society so that people's purchasing power can increase, either by providing subsidies to keep goods prices cheap or providing cash assistance to people affected by the bad economy.

This is just sampling a known and certain need/want of the population and trying to use it to gauge the economy. It's smart, but it's not really something new. Patterns are drawn by people on every economic movement, as they try to align their money and capacity to spend with it.

There is also that Happy Meal indicator if I can remember it correctly that certain companies often reduce their freebies aimed towards children to cut costs and still be afloat during an economic hardship. There's lots of them out there, and you can even create your own and see whether it will be aligned with the current economic conditions or not.

another strange indicator is the rise in mosquito bites
if more people are at home in their untaken cared of houses, the more likely mosquitos will exist and therefore will be biting them

another indicator is more people going on first dates
if the economy is bad then probably a lot of people are unemployed and lonely which pushes them to seek
other relationships compared to when the economy is booming and everyone’s busy

again, there’s still more but this is an interesting topic psychological behavior should also be studied and considered in economics you can definitely take people’s innate behaviors into consideration when you’re starting a business

Yes during economic downturn or recession, cutting down of expenses is the reasonable thing to do so that you can still be hopeful and surviving in the hard times. But the above is rather funny to me and I don't know if it has gotten to that.

Anyway from ny end, people still claim their people's corpes for burial especially when it is an adult. I'm yet to be aware that people leave their people's d body in mortuary because of the hard economic realiality.

we know the economy is bad when gas prices have already gone up and all the rest of the stuff we usually buy in the grocery store is up 15%. and because your salary is just what it was the last 2 years, your situation is just as bad as the rest of us. we are in a recession. one reason more economists wanna be think we are in a recession is because we hear it on the news too.

but here are indicators to confirm we really are in an economic downturn.

1. butter popcorn index - people go to movies regardless of how bad the movie is. they just go see movies to just get away from their problems. but when the economy is bad, just sit and watch netflix.
 
2. diaper rash - parents wouldn't mind if their kid's diapers are already full during an economic crisis and are not neglectful when it comes to the diaper turning yellow during an economic upturn.

3. plastic surgery index - plastic surgery index is generally down during rough times as women wouldn't mind how small their boobs are than when the economy is booming.  

4. lipstick index -  women wouldn't spend much on expensive lipsticks so sales are gonna be bad for lipsticks compared to the times when economy is great.

5. japanese haircut index - during a good economy, more people in japan will take care of themselves and get their looks neat and they're not doing this during bad times. women don't go to beauty parlors.

6. bike fatality index - during an economic crisis, people use bikes often or can't afford cars so more bike accidents happen.

7. men underwear index - men especially singles don't mind wearing underwear with a couple of holes in it, no one sees it anyway. men buy less underwear during economic downturns.

8. garbage index - less garbage because people buy less when the economy is bad and buy more when times are good so more garbage everywhere.

9. unclaimed body index - during a bad economy, dead people are not claimed in the morgue. horrible index to look at how bad the economy is.
i'm sure people take care of their family when they die. can't believe this is happening.

i'm sure there are some more, there is also a "beer index" where people prefer to just buy 6 packs and go drink at home rather than a bar.
a few months ago, i bought my kid a secondhand laptop rather than a new one because it's expensive, i think this is also an indicator. and i know he'd break it sooner.