Middle-class Americans are falling behind

4 comments

1. “America’s middle class is feeling the heat from sky-high interest rates and persistent inflation.

   The economy is booming, and yet many Americans are still gasping for air financially. They simply don’t have the breathing room to plan beyond their present needs,” said Jennifer Jones Austin, co-chair of the National True Cost of Living Coalition, in a release.

   Economic data and corporate earnings reports have shown that lower-income consumers are struggling to pay their bills on time,
   reducing their spending and searching for deals.
   Wealthier Americans, who have helped support the economy’s strength through high
   interest rates, are also starting to reel in their purchases.

   There are other signals that many consumers are facing financial woes. US home prices are at record highs. Americans are racking up debt and running low on savings accumulated during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

   Thousands of corporate layoffs have some Americans struggling to make ends meet saying they feel as though
   they are living in a recession.

   Americans have for months grappled with a divergence between the way they feel about the economy and how the economy looks on paper.

   But cooling economic data has begun to narrow that gap. US job growth slowed considerably in April, with just 175,000 positions added after a slew of piping hot jobs reports.

   Activity in the US manufacturing sector continued to contract in May. Data released Tuesday revealed that the number of US job openings shrank for the second straight month in April, setting a new three-year low.”

2. Remember this when you vote.

3. Trickle Up Economics has always been awful for the middle class

4. But but but, I thought this economy was doing great.