Perception vs. Personal Finances Disconnect

Nicole explains why Americans view the economy negatively while many still plan higher personal holiday spending.

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Americans have a glum view of the economy, but that is not expected to affect their consumer spending as holiday shopping kicks off.

According to a recent Fox News survey, 76% of Americans have a negative view of the economy. At the end of President Joe Biden’s term, this number was 70%. Yet while Americans appear to be losing faith in the vitality of the U.S. economy, they don’t plan on slowing their own holiday shopping habits.

The International Council of Shopping Centers reports that between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday, 235 million American adults are expected to spend $127 billion, for an average of $542 a person—a $13 increase from the average spent over the long holiday weekend last year.

Millennials are projected to be the biggest spenders, with the International Council of Shopping Center estimating the generation born between 1981 and 1996 will drop an average of $764 a person during the five-day shopping period.

So what’s the disconnect? Why do the same Americans who feel the economy is flooding appear to feel good enough about their personal bank account to go out and drop several hundred dollars in just a few days? Nicole Huyer, a senior research associate in The Heritage Foundation’s Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies, joins this week’s edition of “Problematic Women” to discuss.

Also on today’s show, we discuss spending differences between men and women. Plus, will New York City-Mayor elect Zohran Mamdani actually be able to implement his socialist wish list in the Big Apple? And if he can, what will that mean not only for New York City’s economy, but the economic health of the nation.

Catch the conversation on this week’s edition of “Problematic Women.”

00:00 Welcome!

02:16 Generational Shopping Habit

11:20 Trump and Elon are Back?

19:02 Economic Long Game vs. Short Term Gains

20:28 Zohran Mamdani and NYC's Affordability Crisis

28:50 Christmas Season Begins

34:13 Final Thoughts and Farewell

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