Month: October 2021

A widely propagated myth is that there is north of $2 trillion in “excess cash” savings spread evenly across the US population (courtesy of Biden’s trillions). However, this “excess” is actually only held by the top 20% of the wealthiest in America. But, the statistic that should make people pay attention is the fact that spending on credit cards among the lower income cohort has spiked with a 23% growth rate over a 2-year period, up from the summer average of 15%. According to Bank of America, this growing reliance on credit cards reflects “the loss of income support from the expiration of unemployment benefits (UI) which has disproportionally impacted the lower income population.”

A global semiconductor shortage has reduced new car production and boosted used car demand. The average used car age on U.S. highways hit 12.1 this year, a record high, and has unleashed a repair boom. But with snarled supply chains, auto repair shops have had difficulty sourcing parts and told customers their cars could take weeks to fix, according to Bloomberg.