Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of the accompanying video from professor Peter St. Onge.
Americans are running out of money.
According to the Federal Reserve, America’s savings rate just hit a fresh low while credit card balances hit a record high—with 25% interest.
In short, the median American is currently scrounging for coins in the couch and putting the Hamburger Helper on the visa.
According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the nation’s personal savings rate just hit 2.9%. That’s 2.9 cents on the dollar.
That’s the second worst rate in 75 years.
What’s driving it is that, according to a new analysis, inflation-adjusted real median household income—how much the 50th percentile of households make—actually dropped since 2019.
In other words, in terms of how it feels to American households, we’ve been in recession…
