Thank you. I've seen all of these things in the last few months, but didn't have the patience to go round them up. This Atlantic article was poor, but especiall

Thank you. I've seen all of these things in the last few months, but didn't have the patience to go round them up. This Atlantic article was poor, but especially the end. It started off somewhat talking about facts, and then just completely lost reality in the last couple paragraphs. >Consumer spending rose 0.2 percent, after accounting for higher prices, in October, the most recent month for which the government has data 0.2% is not a lot. It's quite possible the adjustment for higher prices missed it somehow. >People want to blame Joe Biden for their bills. They want to accuse stores of gouging them (though the evidence for “greedflation” is scant). The strange truth is that most people really are in a more comfortable position, even if they’re not happy about it. It’s not like a weak economy, stagnant wages, crummy consumer spending, and cheaper stuff would be better, after all. It's quite obvious what is happening. Lifestyle creep due to low interest rates and artificially low costs took a whole generation and made them accustomed to a specific lifestyle they are loathe to give up. Meanwhile, young people are getting priced out of things that we'd traditionally save for (i.e. houses). At the same time, the dollar is worth less and less. So you may as well get something tangible with it while you have it. And rather than save up for a house you might be able to get a 30 year mortgage on by the time you're 45, might as well resign yourself to not thinking about that and spending the money while you're young and can enjoy it. There is no reason to save right now, for most people.