Consumers are so demoralized by inflation and high rates they've given up on saving for the American Dream and are spending money instead, economist says

If I can't save for retirement, I might as well have a nice bike and a nice gaming PC.

A high inflation regime promotes taking on debt as inflation makes it cheaper to pay off. That debt will get spent. If hyperinflation is threatened, buying inflation hedges is the "smart" move - real estate, gold, foreign assets. This similarly applies to simply not holding on to savings, as inflation devalues all money that you save at a faster rate than durable goods.

This is, literally, basic economics. And none of it is mentioned in the article.

If I were in the average millennials’ or gen-zs’ shoes, I might be spending it on drugs.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disease_of_despair
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_murder

I have no dreams of buying a house (or even apartment) anymore, just rent4life baby