> . People were generally flush with money I have a very hard time believing that most people in the US simply have too much money. I suspect that most people

> . People were generally flush with money I have a very hard time believing that most people in the US simply have too much money. I suspect that most people are struggling, and were struggling even before the pandemic and that people's standard of living is declining, their debit is climbing, and they are just a few missed paychecks away from disaster. I think that as the pandemic situation improved, people were simply desperate for a sense of normalcy and for the things they'd gone without and they spent more than they could afford, even going farther into debt. It wasn't "but it is a few extra bucks I can afford right now, and things will eventually calm down" it was "this is more than I can afford, but I need it, and I deserve it, and the world is burning anyway so fuck it". I think to a lesser extent that mentality is still going on, but people are suffering heavily under the increased costs of rent, food, and everything else. Evictions and bankruptcies are increasing and homelessness is rising (https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2022-AHAR-Part-1.pdf https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2022-...) and has been for years. I can't say to what extent greed is the cause of inflation, but I'm pretty confident it's a bigger factor than how much money most Americans are comfortably sitting on.