The result has often been referred to as a “K-shaped economy”, in which the rich are on the rise while those with fewer resources – and disproportionately blacks, Hispanics and working women – are suffering the economic consequences of the pandemic. As the rich get richer and more mobile in the age of working at home, they are buying houses.
Business and Economy
America has Zoom cities.
Many middle-class millennials who have remained on the sidelines of the housing market for years have reported that the pandemic has accelerated their purchase plans. They were attracted by interest rate cuts linked to the Fed’s pandemic, which made mortgages cheap, and the prospect of more space.
Some millennials, freed from office buildings by remote work arrangements, appear to be looking for cities where single-family homes are relatively affordable – what some writers have labeled “Zoom” cities. People between the ages of 21 and 40 account for a large portion of home loans in places like New Castle, Pennsylvania, and Frankfort, Indiana, according to data from Ellie Mae, a mortgage software company. At the same time, rents in expensive cities like New York, San Francisco and Boston have been falling.
This giant $ 300 skeleton has sold out.
As people spent a lot of time at home, many finally decided to fix the back porch or renovate the garden – or invest in stranger types of decor. Home Depot and its competitors had a good year overall, with the United States moving from spending on services to spending on goods, as restaurants closed and distant holidays became banned. But the home repair shop noticed that the trend of products over experiences has stood out on Halloween. The company offered a giant $ 300 skeleton that became a national sensation, selling out before October even started. People started decorating the 3.6 meter frame for the parties, to the delight of social media users.
Deficit spending has been endorsed by celebrities.
Skeletons are not the only domain in which some Americans have decided that the bigger the better. A group of economists has argued for years that the United States unnecessarily restricts its potential in trying to contain the federal deficit. They say resource constraints are the real limit on how much the American government, which prints its own currency, can spend.
This idea – called modern monetary theory – attracted a lot of attention in 2020, especially as some Democratic presidential candidates have promised comprehensive government spending programs. It got to Hollywood. The actor and musician Ice Cube suggested in a tweet that America must be able to deal with problems like hunger and homelessness, since it can print money. So that fans don’t understand, he posted a accompanying photo economist Stephanie Kelton’s book on theory, which came out in 2020.
The celebrity endorsement aside, the theory has many critics and clearly doesn’t work in Washington yet: deficits were central to the debate over a $ 900 billion aid package that President Trump signed on Sunday night. But the government’s debt increased rapidly during the year, as Congress and the White House intervened to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, so it looks like an era of higher spending is upon us.