The ranks of the “Working poor” are growing very quickly – the Crisis in the US

The average American today lives no better than a citizen of the country in the 1970s and 1980s. This is also the reason why Donald Trump triumphed in the recent presidential elections, to reverse the situation, as much as possible.

America is during of a slow collapse that is being paid for and will be paid for – of course – by the lower income groups, and, contrary to the “hay” that the Biden administration has given the people over the last 4 years, the signs are clear. More specifically,

1. When the economy is doing well, holiday spending increases every year. In 2024, only 16% of Americans said they would spend more on the holiday than they did a year ago, according to a CNBC survey, as Americans this holiday season see a ghost of the past: inflation.

2. The number of U.S. job openings is now the lowest it has been since 2021, but unlike then, we don’t have a pandemic to blame for the poor performance. U.S. job openings fell last month to their lowest level since January 2021, a sign that the labour market is losing some momentum. However, posted job openings remain well above pre-pandemic levels. The Labour Department reported on Tuesday that job openings fell to 7.4 million in September from 7.9 million in August.

3. The numbers on economic activity are extremely dismal. For example, the Philadelphia Fed’s Manufacturing Index—a critical gauge of overall business conditions—just fell sharply, sharply against forecasts, underscoring a more severe recession than initially anticipated.

4. Thanks to rapidly rising mortgage rates, the average U.S. homebuyer has lost $33,250 in purchasing power in just six weeks. Mortgage rates hit 7% on October 28, their highest level since the beginning of the summer, and are up nearly a percentage point from the 18-month low they hit in mid-September.

5. The cost-of-living crisis is officially out of control. According to Bank of America, nearly a third of all households “spend more than 95% of their disposable income on necessities like housing costs, groceries, and utility bills.”

6. A recent Lendingtree survey (“76% of Americans Say Inflation/Economy Has Made It More Difficult to Afford Bills, and 45% Have Paid One Late in Past Year“) found that nearly a quarter of all households were unable to pay their entire electric bill at some point in the past year.

7. The same Lendingtree survey found that about a third of all households had to cut back on “essentials” spending in the past year in order to pay for utilities. The need to cover utility bills prompted 34.3% of Americans to cut back on essentials — or eliminate some altogether — at least once in the past year, Lendingtree reported.

8. Demand is at record levels at food banks across the country. Why is demand at food banks across the country higher than ever? The media continues to insist that economic conditions are very good, but it has become obvious to everyone that this is not true. In particular, the rising cost of living is absolutely crushing households. In the old days, most of the people who showed up at food banks were unemployed. But now food banks are serving a large number of people who do have jobs, but do not make enough to pay for all the basics. The ranks of the “working poor” are growing very quickly, and this is creating an unprecedented crisis across America.

9. It’s not even Christmas yet and the stores are closing. “Party City” is closing all of its stores after nearly 40 years in business. The CEO told corporate employees on Friday, December 20, in a meeting broadcast by CNN that Party City is “closing down” operations immediately and that today, December 24, will be their last day of employment.

10. To make matters worse, Big Lots announced that all 936 of its remaining stores will be permanently closed. The discount retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September and has already closed hundreds of stores across the country.

11. By the end of November, it had closed more than 7,000 stores in the United States—a 69% increase from last year. According to a report by CoreSight Research, U.S. retailers had announced more than 7,100 store closures by the end of November 2024, representing a 69% increase compared to the same period in 2023.

This is what a deeply troubled economy looks like.

Then there’s what citizens see with their own eyes when they go outside: downtowns across California are collapsing under the weight of homelessness and drug addiction. Cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco have made countless headlines for their drug-ridden streets, where businesses are quickly closing due to high crime rates and low consumer traffic.

The number of drug addicts in America is at an all-time high. The number of homeless people in America is at an all-time high.