The Home Front The American Economy is a House of Cards with Grace Blakely
Sep 26, 2025
Grace Blakely, an economist and author of "Vulture Capitalism," dives deep into the troubling state of the U.S. economy. She discusses the shocking wealth concentration among the top 10%, the ramifications of the AI bubble, and stagnant wages despite rising productivity. Grace highlights how AI's growth might resemble past tech bubbles and warns of potential job losses amidst a global economic slowdown. The conversation also emphasizes the need for grassroots organizing to address economic disparities and the importance of labor movements in driving political change.
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Consumption Concentrated At The Top
- U.S. consumer spending is extremely concentrated: the top 10% now account for half of all spending.
- That reliance makes growth fragile because wealthy households save more and channel money into speculative investment.
Investment Pushed Into AI Bubble
- Much investment is funneled into AI and financial speculation rather than broad productive uses.
- That channels saved wealth into a concentrated, potentially unstable boom rather than broad consumption.
LLMs Are Hard To Monetize Sustainably
- A few firms built LLMs and others commercialize them, often by layering services on top.
- High fixed costs and weak enclosure make long-term sustainable profits unclear, creating bubble risk.
