Danielle DiMartino Booth

Historically delayed revisions to official job market data demonstrate that the U.S. economy began shedding jobs in the spring of 2024. It’s no wonder that so many Americans voted for change in the presidential election. Since then, though, erratic policies have paralyzed decision-making across Corporate America, staying investment across big and small companies alike. Cutting the sole cost that can be controlled — labor — remains the go-to solution.

Aside from the increasingly leveraged promises of Artificial Intelligence, flagrant financial engineering by investment bankers, and a stock market that benefits from both phenomena, there is very little left in the way of economic dynamism. The top 10% of earners now account for half of U.S. consumption; the masses are told to eat a modern version of cake.

There are very real economic consequences of today’s income inequality that continue to widen due to an increasingly lax regulatory apparatus. We can pretend that “This time is different.” History suggests we not.