K-shaped economy

 

The investment boom has supercharged the economy by raising productivity, hoisting profits, driving record stock-market gains and underpinning consumer spending, especially among the wealthy.

And yet, most Americans aren’t feeling the burn.

High inflation is the biggest killjoy — goods and services cost about 30% more now than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Wages are barely keeping up with inflation, if that. And people worry about AI taking their jobs, raising their energy bills or worse.

”If most people ask, ‘Am I better off now than I was four years ago,’ the answer is, ‘Not really,’” 

MarketWatch 23 October 2026

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-u-s-economy-is-great-by-this-measure-and-the-good-times-arent-over-so-why-are-americans-so-sour-4be897db

Why does everything feel so expensive?

https://englundmacro.blogspot.com/2026/03/why-does-everything-feel-so-expensive.html

The wealthiest 10% of American households—those making more than $250,000 a year, roughly—are now responsible for half of all US consumer spending and at least a third of the country’s gross domestic product. 

If you keep that in mind, a lot of strange things start to make more sense—sometimes distressingly so.

https://englundmacro.blogspot.com/2025/03/who-exactly-is-buying-all-of-this-stuff.html

Affluent and Older Americans Got Much Richer

The new data paints a picture of a two-speed economy, where older and affluent people are thriving, and persistent inflation is making others feel pessimistic about their finances and the economy broadly. 

Recent company earnings’ reports and consumer sentiment surveys have shown the same economic divide

Wall Street Journal 9 October 2026

https://www.wsj.com/economy/affluent-and-older-americans-got-much-richer-in-the-postpandemic-years-f53b3113

The ‘Kill-Line’ and the K-shaped economy

https://englundmacro.blogspot.com/2026/02/bessent-kill-line-and-k-shaped-economy.html