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by patwolf 777 days ago
I found a similar article from June of 2022 about the stripper index signaling a recession, so clearly it's not a very good indicator. A stripper is typically a short-term career, so it wouldn't make sense to rely on observations made over such a short period. Maybe things are just returning to normal after a boom, and none of the interviewed people were around pre-boom.

The personal savings rate, https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PSAVERT, might be a better proxy of whatever the stripper index is actually signaling. It was at a low in the summer of 2022 and is nearing a low again. Less money in savings means less money to spend at strip clubs. It doesn't, however, automatically mean recession.
3 comments
baby-yoda 777 days ago
Q1 and Q2 2022 had negative GDP growth [0]. Ignoring the debate about whether or not that constitutes a "true recession", as the article mentions this index indicates the economy is experiencing strain and the timelines match up to the previous citation you mention. To me that would indicate it has some level of accurate representation.

[0] https://www.npr.org/2022/07/28/1113649843/gdp-2q-economy-202...

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laidoffamazon 777 days ago
Yet nominal GDP growth and real GDI were high and positive (respectively). GDI should equal GDP so it was a unique situation, not really indicative of any additional non-energy financial strain.
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laidoffamazon 777 days ago
How is the personal savings rate a good indicator? It went up during the great recession and spiked during the last recession in 2020. If anything high savings is a counter-indicator.

Not to mention that we are seeing a generational shift in the labor market right now - the baby boomer part of the population pyramid is finally deciding to retire and is probably not going to save as much as they were when they were building their nest egg.

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greenavocado 777 days ago
I trust statistics about strippers more than I trust statistics about the federal government.

Also the length of a stripper's career is irrelevant for this discussion as long as there is an equilibrium state of strippers available.

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