[gumby]

> Purchasing power has collapsed

There is no evidence for this in the USA except among the poorest, for whom support is being withdrawn by the federal and many state governments.

Pay packets are rising faster than costs have been (and costs are dropping). Now those are statistical measures, but the actual data show that consumers are spending as if the are doing better.

It is true that a secular increase in pricing is quite visible — I suffer from this myself even though I can afford it: a bag of groceries simply costs 30% more than it did a few years ago and that bugs me at the check out. It costs me a smaller percentage of my paycheck, but that feels more abstract.

This is like the perennial crime issue: “Crime is out of control — not where I live, but in all those other places.” Today’s NYT interviewed a bunch of caucus voters for whom they support and why. One guy literally said, “the economy is a disaster. I’m doing fine, but I understand it’s actually terrible.”