The S&P 500 just closed above 6170. Nasdaq is over 20000. Every financial outlet is painting it as strength. But if you step away from the screen and check the wallets, it’s clear the real economy is strained.
More than half of Millennials and Gen Z say they are using buy now pay later apps to buy necessities. That includes groceries. Klarna reports US grocery-related volume up over 70 percent this year. That is not about flexibility. That is about lack of cash.
Homeownership for younger Americans keeps slipping. In 2010, 50 percent of buyers were first-timers. Today it is 24 percent. The median age of a first-time buyer has climbed to 38. Many never get close. The cost of entry is too far removed from median incomes.
Affordability metrics confirm the squeeze. Less than 9 percent of homes listed are accessible to households earning 50000 dollars. Even at 75000 dollars of income, only one in five listings qualify. The American dream is bottlenecked at the entry point.
Rents are moving sideways or slightly up. Disposable income is not keeping pace. Credit card balances are above 1.1 trillion dollars. Student loan repayments resumed last year. Delinquency rates have been edging higher every quarter. Households are stretching.
Savings rates have inched up, but not for good reasons. It is defensive. The economy is stable on spreadsheets, but jittery on the ground. The political response has been to highlight the market highs. The public sees the grocery bill.
Asset prices are inflating again. Equity holders are rotating back into growth and tech. But for non-owners of capital, the pain is persistent. Costs are sticky. Debt is rising. Wages are lagging. Ownership gaps are widening with no credible repair plan in motion.
This is the environment in which equities are soaring. The scoreboard says win. The field says otherwise. What matters now is not the multiple on the S&P. It is the growing distance between that number and the life it is supposed to reflect.
Sources
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/26/americans-groceries-buy-now-pay-later-loans.html
https://pueblostarjournal.org/news/2025/06/03/shopping-buy-now-pay-later-groceries