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How is America doing with personal financial stability 6 months into the Trump administration?
In two words, not good.
"Americans have been feeling the financial squeeze as prices continue to rise due to inflation and interest rates stay high as a result. The pressure isn't just hitting families who are living paycheck to paycheck anymore. Even the households earning six figures are feeling it, with delinquencies on credit cards and auto loans more than doubling since 2023 for Americans making over $150,000 annually, according to new data from credit-scoring company VantageScore. There was also a 60% increase seen among middle-income earners and a 22% rise for lower-income households during the same period.
The reasons behind this troubling trend paint a picture of an economy that's shifting in ways that are catching nearly all Americans, including high earners, who tend to be more immune to economic shifts, off guard. Part of the issue is that white-collar job creation has plummeted, with only 7% of new positions this year paying above-average wages compared to 38% in the five years before the pandemic. Meanwhile, about three-quarters of middle-income consumers are reducing non-essential purchases, and one-third have ramped up their credit card usage over the past year just to keep up.
Even households earning six figures are feeling the squeeze in today's economic landscape..."
"Reducing non-essential purchases"
"One third of middle income earners ramped up credit card usage"
This doesn't sound like America has been "made great again" at all. This sounds like the billionaires are putting the squeeze on everybody else. The 1% are loving it and the 99% are losing wealth comparatively, able to buy less, buying less, and less able to even pay for what they are buying.
Trump has not helped Americans feel better about money. Instead, Americans feel less secure:
"Americans are feeling increasingly uneasy about their financial future.
Nearly 7 in 10 (69%) say financial uncertainty has led them to feelings of anxiety and depression, according to a recent survey from Northwestern Mutual — an 8-percentage-point increase from 2023.
It's tempting to point to large-scale financial trends to help explain the uptick. Americans hold near-record levels of credit card debt, for instance, amounting to $1.18 trillion, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York."
Trump's promises are meaningless.
In two words, not good.
"Americans have been feeling the financial squeeze as prices continue to rise due to inflation and interest rates stay high as a result. The pressure isn't just hitting families who are living paycheck to paycheck anymore. Even the households earning six figures are feeling it, with delinquencies on credit cards and auto loans more than doubling since 2023 for Americans making over $150,000 annually, according to new data from credit-scoring company VantageScore. There was also a 60% increase seen among middle-income earners and a 22% rise for lower-income households during the same period.
The reasons behind this troubling trend paint a picture of an economy that's shifting in ways that are catching nearly all Americans, including high earners, who tend to be more immune to economic shifts, off guard. Part of the issue is that white-collar job creation has plummeted, with only 7% of new positions this year paying above-average wages compared to 38% in the five years before the pandemic. Meanwhile, about three-quarters of middle-income consumers are reducing non-essential purchases, and one-third have ramped up their credit card usage over the past year just to keep up.
Even households earning six figures are feeling the squeeze in today's economic landscape..."
More Americans are struggling to pay their debt
"Reducing non-essential purchases"
"One third of middle income earners ramped up credit card usage"
This doesn't sound like America has been "made great again" at all. This sounds like the billionaires are putting the squeeze on everybody else. The 1% are loving it and the 99% are losing wealth comparatively, able to buy less, buying less, and less able to even pay for what they are buying.
Trump has not helped Americans feel better about money. Instead, Americans feel less secure:
"Americans are feeling increasingly uneasy about their financial future.
Nearly 7 in 10 (69%) say financial uncertainty has led them to feelings of anxiety and depression, according to a recent survey from Northwestern Mutual — an 8-percentage-point increase from 2023.
It's tempting to point to large-scale financial trends to help explain the uptick. Americans hold near-record levels of credit card debt, for instance, amounting to $1.18 trillion, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York."
7 in 10 Americans are anxious about money—and earning more won't necessarily help, says therapist
Trump's promises are meaningless.
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