Statement: Spending habits are important in understanding the health of the economy. Post-pandemic, the so called "K shaped" economy has been a sort of staple for describing how people have been feeling about the all time highs of the stock market but the rising cost of living. Evidence is showing that the middle class is now diverging from the top spenders and acting with more caution in their spending while the lower class is using more credit and pay overtime to meet ends meet.
This is important when understanding the general "vibes" that people are feeling as well as for policy decisions that could help people become more secure. On top of that, this is an election year and bread and butter issues can be incredibly motivating when it comes time to vote.
Posted by sleepyrivertroll
7 Comments
>“It’s just whack-a-mole inflation,” says Long.
I’m stealing this.
I am calling for a complete shutdown of people comparing the economy to letters until we can figure out what the hell is going on
> spending nervously
Struggling to pay my mortgage because my sweaty shaky hands keep pressing the wrong button.
I think a large part of this is like 60% of Americans are terrified of losing their jobs. When people don’t feel their employment is stable they don’t spend.
It does feel like things are slowly picking up
Asset rich/cash poor. With war and tariffs, the middle class will soon be poor/poor.
Sometimes I think a recession and recovery that would take 2 years or so would be better than this 5 years of economic uncertainty.