Typical $60K household left with just $500 a month after bills.
This time, there’s no big event — no crash, no panic.
Just a grind:
Rents up 30%
Groceries + utilities up 20–25%
Insurance +40–60%
Credit card APRs above 22%
Costs are up — and nothing’s coming down.
— Craig Shapiro (@ces921) August 5, 2025
A $60K household today spends:
$24K on housing
$9K on insurance
$10K on food + utilities
$6K on credit payments
That leaves $500/month — before savings or emergencies.
— Craig Shapiro (@ces921) August 5, 2025
The Fed can’t fix this.
Cutting rates won’t lower rent or insurance.
Congress won’t help either – too broke, too gridlocked.
No policy lever solves this squeeze.
— Craig Shapiro (@ces921) August 5, 2025
Watch these pressure points:
BNPL usage for essentials
Mid-tier credit card delinquencies
Rent arrears in red states
Q3 retail misses
401k drawdowns
These are your early warning signals.
— Craig Shapiro (@ces921) August 5, 2025
This isn’t a soft landing.
It’s a silent depression.
People have jobs.
They’re working.
They’re still losing.
— Craig Shapiro (@ces921) August 5, 2025
The consumer squeeze is here.
It’s broader, deeper, and more dangerous than Wall Street realizes.
📉 Full memo here:
“America’s Silent Depression”https://t.co/VUIxx73ypf— Craig Shapiro (@ces921) August 5, 2025