Are You Better Off Financially Than You Were Five or 10 Years Ago? We Want to Hear About It.

The economic report is full of gloom, injustice and foreboding. Gas prices have skyrocketed. Inflation is back after a 40-year nap. Becoming a homeowner is impossible for many renters. Service workers have faced perils during Covid that they were not adequately compensated for while the top 1 percent was richly rewarded.

All true. But for many Americans of middle class means, the last 10 years also marked unusually good times.

We’re not talking about people who invested in Bitcoin, worked for a very successful start-up or bet the farm on Tesla or Apple shares. This is a more modest but broader-based success: Homeowners watching the value of their houses increase. Workers getting better-paying jobs in a tight labor market. Retirement accounts swelling in value thanks to a rising stock market.

The New York Times is reporting a story about those who feel they are doing well financially, even if they might also have worries about what could happen tomorrow. If you’re in this group — however you might define “doing well” in your personal situation — we’d like to hear how it has affected your life.

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