The US economy is experiencing a "selective recession" where lower-income Americans are struggling due to rising costs and dwindling savings, while upper-income consumers remain unaffected. Inflation, although cooling down, has significantly impacted the purchasing power of lower and middle-income individuals. With the pandemic savings having been depleted for most Americans, recession fears are now growing as the job market weakens and interest rates remain high.
This line has been a thing for years now and I'm still bewildered where it came from. For a couple years after the pandemic ended (hell, I guess it's still going on) articles focussing on the economy would always mention how people were doing better than average or are more insulated from downturns due to the tons of money they saved/earned from the pandemic, and how they still possess that money, and I never understood if they were just lying or if there really is some large mythical group of people who still somehow possessed the money that was given out. I'm not an American but no American I've ever talked to has even mentioned having that money in reserve, ever.
Rich people were able to take out bullshit fake loans for fake businesses that immediately got forgiven. Everyone else got enough money for rent once.