While the stock market surges for the wealthy, the cost of living keeps climbing for everyone else. Since 2020, the stock market has more than doubled. Americans with significant financial assets are enjoying the gains, but for everyone else, the economy feels very different. This summer, the average family will spend nearly $800 just to keep their home cool, almost 40% more than in 2020 and up 10.5% from last summer. Americans now carry more than $1.2tn in credit card debt. Nearly 60% say they are living paycheck to paycheck. One in six households is behind on utility bills. Each year, utilities disconnect electric service more than 13m times. Nearly 40% of lower-income households struggle to pay their energy bills. Mark Wolfe is an energy economist and serves as the executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, representing the state directors of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and the co-director of the Center on Energy Poverty and Climate. He also serves as an adjunct professor at the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy at George Washington University Continue reading…
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