The middle class in the U.S. has been steadily shrinking for decades, but in recent years our leaders have greatly accelerated that process. In 2020, 2021 and 2022 they absolutely flooded the system with new money, and almost all of that new money went into the pockets of the wealthy. The gap between the wealthy and the rest of us is now larger than ever, and that isn’t a good thing for our society.
Even if you are still making as much money as you did a few years ago, you have lost a lot of ground financially, because the cost of living has been rapidly eating away at our standard of living. As I covered the other day, household income in the United States has declined by 9.1 percent since April 2020 after adjusting for inflation and taxes. In other words, the middle class is a whole lot smaller than it was in April 2020, and it continues to get smaller with each passing day.
According to Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi, on average Americans are now spending “$709 more per month on everyday goods and services than they did two years ago”…
Americans are spending $709 more per month on everyday goods and services than they did two years ago, according to Moody’s Analytics.
Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi made the statement Friday on X, formerly known as Twitter, as part of his analysis of July’s consumer price index report.
Is the rising cost of living causing financial stress for you?
If it is, you are definitely not alone.
The wealthy are doing just fine for the moment, but inflation has caused a lot of pain for the vast majority of the rest of us.
Just paying for a place to live has become incredibly oppressive. Personally, I was astounded to learn that the average rent in Manhattan has now reached $5,588 per month…
New Yorkers are feeling the squeeze as rents hit a new high.
Rent in Manhattan soared to a record-high average of $5,588 in July, up 9% from 2022.
It’s hurting tenants struggling to find apartments they can afford. One apartment hunter said she can’t find a studio to suit her work-from-home needs for less than $5,000.
Who can afford that?
Only the wealthy.
Of course the truth is that rents have been soaring all over the country.
It is being reported that the nationwide average rent-to-income ratio has exceeded 30 percent for the past two years. This is the very first time in the entire history of our country that this has ever happened.
With rents being so high, a lot of Americans are being forced out into the streets. According to the Wall Street Journal, the United States “has seen a record increase in homeless people this year”.
Please let that statement sink in for a moment. So far in 2023, the number of homeless people in the U.S. is up 11 percent from last year.
That is the biggest jump that the government has ever recorded. Not even during the recession of 2008 and 2009 did we see anything like this. Unfortunately, the outlook for the months ahead is not promising, because it looks like the cost of living is going to continue to rise at a brisk pace.
According to CNN, the average price of a gallon of gasoline has nearly reached 4 dollars a gallon…
Pump prices are creeping towards $4 a gallon nationally.
The national average for regular gasoline hit $3.85 a gallon on Monday, according to AAA. That’s the highest level since October 19 and comes just weeks ahead of Labor Day weekend when millions of Americans will hit the roads.
I remember the days when I could fill up my vehicle for less than 20 dollars. But the other day I spent 70 dollars at the gas station and that didn’t even fill the tank.
And we are being warned that U.S. consumers are going to have a lot less discretionary income in the months ahead as tens of millions are forced to start making payments on student loans again…
For more than three years, federal student loan borrowers have not had to make monthly payments. But that pandemic-era pause is coming to an end this fall, setting up a financial shock for millions of Americans and the big-name stores, such as Target, Nike, Under Armour and Gap, where they shop.
About 44 million borrowers in the U.S. were affected by the payment pause, which initially began in March 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Biden administration extended the pause for the eighth time in November but will not do so again as part of the bipartisan debt ceiling deal approved by Congress.
More than 60 percent of all Americans are already living paycheck to paycheck, and many are increasingly turning to debt in order to make ends meet.
In fact, total credit card debt now exceeds the one trillion dollar mark for the first time ever, and that is not a good sign at all.
Also, an increasing number of Americans are now dipping into their 401(K) plans…
When father-of-two Ivan Marusic lost his job overnight in 2020, he was left panicking about how he would cover his mortgage.
It prompted the 35-year-old, from Texas, to do something he never thought he would: withdraw $20,000 from his 401(K). It is a decision he is still paying for now.
‘I was really hesitant to do it because I knew it would set me back financially in the long run. But I didn’t have any other options. I had already maxed out my credit card and I was running out of money,’ Marusic, a tech worker who has since founded the website Game Taco, told Dailymail.com
We really are witnessing a middle class meltdown.
I have been warning about this trend in my books for years, and now the evisceration of the middle class has greatly accelerated.
I wish that I could tell you that there is economic hope on the horizon. But I can’t do that, because our leaders continue to make incredibly self-destructive decisions which are going to cause immense economic pain for the entire country.
Michael’s new book entitled “End Times” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.
Article cross-posted from The Economic Collapse Blog.
Why the National Debt Is the Looming Threat to Your Retirement Plans
The Hidden Crisis No One Is Talking About
Every day, headlines warn about inflation, market volatility, and global instability—but the greatest looming threat to your retirement might be something far more fundamental: America’s skyrocketing national debt.
You can learn more about how the national debt affects you by reading this 3-minute report titled, “Debt Will Hit $40T in 2026: Prepare Your Retirement Now“.
With debt growing faster than most Americans can possibly fathom, the government’s borrowing habits have reached historic—and dangerous—levels. To cover spending, Washington is making moves with their budget packages, tariffs, and taxes. Is it enough? No. It’s not even close to what would be necessary to stop out-of-control debt, let alone reverse it.
How Debt Erodes Your Nest Egg
There are only so many levers government and the Federal Reserve can pull to try to protect Americans, assuming that’s even a top priority for them. Unfortunately, pulling one level to relive one pressure invariably adds pressure from another direction. This is why prices keep going up even as inflation reportedly slows.
For retirees and pre-retirees, that’s a perfect storm. The dollars you’ve worked hard to save lose value, and your cost of living increases while your investments lag behind.
If you’re relying solely on paper-based assets—stocks, bonds, or mutual funds—you’re essentially tied to the same system that’s creating the problem. It’s a system that was designed to work well in the 20th century, not in today’s world with people living longer and the dollar rapidly losing value.
This is why the 3-minute report, “Debt Will Hit $40T in 2026: Prepare Your Retirement Now,” is so important.
The Precious Metals Hedge
Thousands of Americans are looking for a tangible, time-tested hedge: physical gold and silver.
Unlike paper assets, precious metals aren’t dependent on government policy or the stock market’s mood swings. They’re real, finite resources that have maintained value for thousands of years through wars, recessions, and inflationary periods.
In fact, during times of high inflation and fiscal instability, gold often performs its best—because it’s seen as a store of value when faith in the dollar weakens. This is why prices have skyrocketed this year and are expected by many economists to continue going up in the future.
Take Control with a Gold IRA
One of the most effective ways to protect your retirement from national debt fallout is through a self-directed Gold IRA. This IRS-approved account lets you hold physical gold and silver within your retirement portfolio, giving you:
- Direct ownership of your assets
- A hedge against inflation and dollar decline
- The control to diversify beyond Wall Street
Augusta Precious Metals specializes in helping Americans just like you take this step with confidence. The company has earned a strong reputation for transparency, education, and personalized service—making it one of the most trusted names in the industry.
The Next Step: Secure Your Financial Future
Augusta Precious Metals has helped thousands of Americans with at least $50,000 to invest from their IRAs, 401(K)s, TSPs, and other retirement accounts safeguard their savings through precious metals.
If you’re concerned about what the rising national debt could mean for your future, now is the time to act.
Read this 3-minute report titled, “Debt Will Hit $40T in 2026: Prepare Your Retirement Now“ and learn the simple steps you can take to protect your retirement.
