Spending is back to normal for poor Americans—but not for rich ones – By Dan Kopf (Quartz) / July 28 2020
Spending among poor Americans is just about back to pre-pandemic levels. After falling by more than 25% in late March and April, weekly purchases by poor Americans in July almost rebounded to where they were in January. This is according to credit and debit card transaction information analyzed by Opportunity Insights, a policy institute based at Harvard University.
Research shows that when low-earning families lose income, they do substantially decrease how much they buy. So it’s not that poor Americans are going into credit card debt to keep up their spending. Rather, economists have found that the US government’s stimulus payments and enhanced unemployment insurance have kept many low-income families afloat.
Continue to article: https://qz.com/1885473/spending-is-back-to-normal-for-poor-americans-but-not-for-rich-ones/
