Thanks to Free Money, Spending Has Fully Recovered Nearly Everywhere
Free money has led to a consumer splurge. Let's investigate with a pair of charts.
Give away free money and people will spend it.
Nearly every class of spending has recovered and some have surged to new heights.
What Free Money Can Do
- Motor vehicles sales are at record highs.
- Nonstore retail sales are just off record highs.
- Despite work-at-home, gasoline has more than recovered.
- Department store sales are just under pre-pandemic levels.
- Food and drinking establishments are the one laggard for understandable reasons.
Retail Sales Month-Over Month
The month-over-month increases are interesting,
There were three rounds of Covid stimulus: a year ago under Trump, then in January and March under Biden.
For details, please see Hot Potato Money in Play as Retail Sales Unexpectedly Flop
What happens when the stimulus stops?
Mish