Slate Business What Next | The Unaffordable Economy
Dec 17, 2025
Catherine Rampell, an economics editor at The Bulwark and anchor at MS NOW, dives into the complexities of today’s economy. She discusses the paradox of rising prices amid consumer pessimism and critiques presidential influence on economic policy. Rampell highlights how essential costs like housing and healthcare are stressing household budgets, while wage growth struggles to keep pace. She also argues that removing tariffs could alleviate inflation pressures, emphasizing the long-term damage of politicized Federal Reserve policies.
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Consumers Paying But Losing Confidence
- Consumers are angry about high prices but are often paying them anyway, masking true confidence declines.
- Surface spending can look strong while underlying sentiment and plans are weakening.
Jobs Headlines Can Mislead
- The strong jobs headline can overstate actual hiring because of data quirks and revisions.
- Jay Powell's staff thought the jobs report may be overstating growth by roughly 60,000 jobs.
One-Off Price Drops Don't Equal Disinflation
- Individual price drops (like eggs) often reflect supply shocks and don't indicate overall inflation easing.
- The broad inflation rate stayed elevated around 3%, well above the Fed's 2% target.