Alina Selyuk

You're referring to the conference board, which has a survey showing confidence down for the fifth month in a row.

But, you know, I talked to Michael Zdenek.

He's an economist with S&P Global Market Intelligence, and he has this line.

It's tough love.

But historically, it's true.

People will keep spending until things really turn.

And right now, we're sort of in this suspended state.

And for many people, things have started to turn, but not for everyone.

Exactly.

Increasingly, people who are doing most of the spending are wealthier folks.

And here's what Zdenek says.

Or, you know, buying things on credit.

Either way, what he's saying is our spending is growing faster than our incomes, which obviously cannot go on forever.

So there are big questions about what happens to wages and jobs in the new year.

Well, you know, our spending is fully based on what we earn now, what we think we'll earn in the future, right?

So one thing, earnings currently, generally speaking, wages are still growing.

So are prices.

They're also growing.

And even though inflation has cooled, wages and prices have sort of met in the middle, with new government data showing that personal disposable income after inflation and taxes is

was stagnant mid-year, not growing much.