Welcome to Trump’s America, The i Paper’s World Insight series presenting the sharpest, deepest thinking on an era-defining shift in history and politics, investigating how Donald Trump and his administration have changed the US and the world – and where we go from here.
• $120,000 should be a great salary. In these US states, it isn’t• Maga’s worst nightmare: a child-free, unmarried female president• The American families torn apart by Maga
At an American checkout, the invitation to borrow money arrives before the receipt. Online, payment platforms divides purchases into instalments or offers a buy now pay later format, while shop-floor promotions push store cards, with some offering free interest for a year.
In the US, shopping bags still look reassuringly full. Behind them, however, sits a household debt pile, including mortgages, of almost $18.8trn (£13.9trn), $383bn (£283bn) more than a year earlier.
The American consumer has kept the tills ringing despite rising prices and uncertainty over global trade and conflict. Retail and food service sales in July were 5 per cent higher than a year earlier, although they slipped 0.6 per cent from June. Higher prices explain part of the annual rise, but not all: inflation-adjusted spending on goods was 1.3 per cent above July last year and 26 per cent above July 2019, while real spending on clothing and footwear was 3.5 per cent higher than a year earlier.
