This is an important graph by @SteveRattner. I want to disentangle a few distinct stories about spending 1. 2020-2022: Really rough times, esp. for the middle class and below. Personal spending barely keeping up with inflation, and often falling below. Just bad. 2. 2022-2023: Underratedly nice period of real income/spending growth. But we're digging out of hole and people are pissed about price increases that are baked in, even with annual inflation falling. Top 20% on a rocket ship. 3. Last 12-18 months: The rich are feeling rich, but from a growth perspective it's starting to feel a bit stagflationy