Have things been getting better for the middle class, or have things been getting worse?  Needless to say, the answer to that question is obvious.  The cost of living is absolutely crushing us, we can’t afford to replace our rapidly aging vehicles, debt levels are exploding, and the proportion of the country that is living paycheck to paycheck has been steadily rising.  Our economy is a mess, and America’s middle class is getting smaller and smaller.  Sometimes I feel like I am watching a very tragic version of musical chairs.  If you are still holding on to your chair, you should be very thankful, because more people are slipping out of the middle class and into poverty with each passing day. If you are old enough, you can still remember a time when many middle class families would purchase a new vehicle every few years. Sadly, today most of us are being forced to get as much mileage out of our rapidly aging vehicles as we possibly can.  As a result, the average age of the passenger vehicles traveling America’s roads has reached an all-time record high… This should be the best of times for the people who help keep America’s cars running. There have never been as many on the road—around 290 million light vehicles—and they have never been so old. One reason for that is good news: They are better made. Getting the odometer past 100,000 miles has gone from being noteworthy to normal. Thirty years ago the average passenger car was about 8.4 years old and today that is 13.6 years. Even keeping our aging vehicles repaired has become exceedingly difficult. These days, if the mechanic hands you a repair bill for less than a thousand dollars that is a reason to celebrate. In the old days, you could get a really nice used vehicle for a thousand dollars. Of course groceries have become insanely expensive as well.  Earlier today, I came across a USA Today article that discussed the fact that the average household in Miami spends 327 dollars at the grocery store per trip… Many longtime Miamians say they’ve felt this way since the pandemic transformed much of their city. As New Yorkers and Californians faced lockdown orders and restrictions, many flocked to Florida, with the largest increase of New Yorkers moving to Miami where they could benefit from tax and mandate breaks while working remotely. But along with having the largest net population gain of any state in the country came exploding living and housing costs. Housing prices have risen almost 50%, according to the UBS Global Real Estate Bubble Index released last month. Grocery prices shot up. (An average household spent about $327 per trip). So did electric bills. A carton of eggs last year cost $5. 327 dollars used to be a lot of money. Now it will just buy you one cart of food. I warned my readers that the economic conditions that we were witnessing in Venezuela would eventually come here, and now it has happened. As I discussed a few days ago, core consumer prices have actually risen for 53 months in a row. Our cost of living crisis is out of control, and there is no end in sight. As they struggle to pay their bills, many Americans are turning to credit cards for some relief. As a result, credit card debt balances have soared to record high levels… The average American household credit card balance as of the third quarter of 2024 was about $10,757 after adjusting for inflation, according to a new study. The personal-finance website WalletHub onFriday released its new Credit Card Debt Study, which found that consumers added $21 billion in debt during the third quarter of 2024. Early results for the fourth quarter of the year show preliminary data for October at a new record high for credit card debt in the month, in absolute terms. As credit card debt levels rose, it was inevitable that more Americans would start getting behind on their payments, and that is precisely what has happened… Are you feeling financially stressed as 2024 comes to a close? You’re not alone, not even close. In fact, 7.8 million Americans have delayed payments on at least one of their credit accounts this year. That’s a million more than in 2023. This is really bad news for the economy as a whole, because our economy is highly dependent on consumer spending. You can’t get blood from a stone, and restaurants all over the country are learning the hard way that most consumers simply cannot afford to eat out as regularly as they once did… Seafood giant Red Lobster, Italian chain Buca di Beppo, fish taco eatery Rubio’s Coastal Grill and the owner of burger and pizza chains BurgerFi and Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza are among those that have sought to reorganize through bankruptcy this year. Hooters of America is also huddling with lenders and advisers amid revenue declines, Bloomberg reported. Shares of Dine Brands Global Inc., the parent of Applebee’s and IHOP, are down about 30% year-to-date, while shares of Bloomin’ Brands Inc., which owns Outback Steakhouse, dropped to near 2020 lows last month after it reported a decline in US same-store sales. Yes, a “restaurant apocalypse” has begun. When I first started using that term, a lot of people thought that I was exaggerating. But of course I was not exaggerating one bit. There was a time when it seemed like just about anyone in this nation could achieve “the American Dream” if they just worked hard enough. But now we have reached a point where only 31 percent of Americans believe that they have “made it” in life… Despite being the land of opportunity, the American Dream remains frustratingly out of reach for most Americans, with a mere 31% believing they’ve financially “made it” in life. Sadly, that figure is even lower for Baby Boomers… However, the picture becomes less optimistic with age. Only 27% of baby boomers feel they’ve reached financial success, and among those who haven’t, just one-third believe they ever will. The survey found that Americans consider their path to financial success threatened by various external factors, including presidential elections (46%), interest rate changes (45%), and the job market (42%). After working so hard for so many years, only 27 percent of Baby Boomers feel like they have “made it” in life. Well, that is quite depressing. Things could have turned out far differently.  Many of us ranted and raved for years that things would turn out this way, but most of the country did not want to listen. Bad decisions lead to bad results. Our leaders have been making comically bad decisions for decades, and thanks to them we now have a complete and utter nightmare on our hands. Michael’s new book entitled “Why” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com. About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “Why” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written eight other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today. 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