Over the past 5 years we have been witnessing an economic shift of epic proportions. When the cost of living rises much faster than paychecks do for an extended period of time, an entire nation can be transformed. Just look at what has happened to Venezuela. It has the largest proven oil reserves in the entire world and at one time it was thriving. But now thanks to rampant inflation, almost everyone is living in poverty even though almost everyone is a “millionaire”. It just doesn’t do much good to be sitting on “millions” if your currency is worthless. Unfortunately, as you will see below, our money supply has been growing at an exponential rate. This is destroying the middle class, because it has created a cost of living crisis that is absolutely crushing struggling households all over this country.
According to a survey that was recently conducted, 52 percent of Americans “struggle to pay bills like rent on time each month”, and 9 out of 10 Americans believe that we are “experiencing a full-blown cost-of-living crisis”…
Rent is due. The electric bill sits on the counter. The grocery receipt from last week still stings. For half of Americans, keeping up with basic monthly bills has become nearly impossible.
A nationwide survey of 5,000 Americans from Talker Research reports 52% now struggle to pay bills like rent on time each month, while an equal number are struggling to afford necessities like groceries. Nine in 10 people believe the U.S. is experiencing a full-blown cost-of-living crisis, and nearly eight in 10 said everything became more expensive in 2025.
When is the last time that 9 out of 10 Americans agreed on anything?
As a nation, we are the most deeply divided that I have seen in my entire lifetime, and yet nearly all of us agree that we are in the midst of a horrifying cost of living crisis.
Of course this didn’t happen by accident.
For a very long time, the people running the system have been doing a really bad job. Our money supply has been growing at an exponential rate, and things really got crazy once the pandemic hit. The following chart that comes directly from the Federal Reserve shows the growth of M2 since 1960…
We are on a road that would eventually lead to hyperinflation.
Even now, when I go to the grocery store I am astounded by the price changes that I see.
Over the past year, ground beef has become 18 percent more expensive and coffee has become 29 percent more expensive…
The price of ground beef, for example, is up 18% since Trump took office a year ago, while ground coffee prices are up 29%.
Needless to say, what we have experienced during the last 12 months is simply a continuation of a crisis that goes back a long way.
Housing costs have escalated dramatically since the beginning of the pandemic, and at this stage much of the population is convinced that they will never be able to afford to purchase a home where they really want to live…
The cost crisis isn’t just making people broke. It’s making them homeless in a different sense, forcing them to abandon places that used to feel like theirs.
More than a third of respondents have already moved because where they were living became too expensive. About a third of those relocated to a different city, while another third left their state entirely, searching for someplace they could actually afford. Half of Gen Z respondents reported moving due to costs, compared to just 19% of baby boomers.
What’s worse is how many Americans have stopped dreaming. About half of all respondents don’t believe they’ll ever be able to afford living in their “ideal” city or state. Among Gen Z, nearly two-thirds have abandoned hope of affording their ideal city. That’s not just about housing markets or inflation. That’s about an entire generation learning to aim lower because aiming higher feels pointless.
Meanwhile, the employment market just keeps getting tighter and tighter.
A woman named Megan Robinson that is very highly educated couldn’t find a job in New York City even after submitting nearly 1,000 applications…
Despite an undergraduate degree from the London School of Economics, an Oxbridge master’s degree, and professional experience, I couldn’t find a job after sending close to 1,000 applications. I eventually made it through a competitive hiring process for a writer-editor position at a small health research publication. The hiring manager praised my initiative and said I had gone “above and beyond” in my first interview.
But almost immediately, I was cut from the shortlist. I was told I brought “too many ideas” and seemed interested more in doing “extra things” than what was in the job description. I was cast, again, back down to the anonymous purgatory of millions of other job seekers who can’t get a foothold, regardless of credentials, enthusiasm, or positive attitude.
What is she supposed to do?
Get more education?
Give me a break.
A man named Alex English that was once making $125,000 a year hasn’t been able to find work for 18 months…
I’ve been unemployed for a year and a half. Before being laid off, I lived in LA and worked in marketing and communications at a startup. I was making around $125,000 and still felt poor.
After five years at my last job, I was handed a layoff like it was nothing. I moved back to where I grew up in Tampa, Florida, because I didn’t have the savings to sustain myself in LA.
I’ve relentlessly networked to find a full-time job, taken on freelance projects, and worked in retail. I feel like I’m working harder than I ever have and yet making significantly less money than I did before. My friends who aren’t dealing with long-term unemployment don’t see my crisis as a crisis. That can be really hard, but I’ve worked on removing the emotional intensity from the situation.
This is the reality of the U.S. economy in 2026.
And every day even more workers are being dumped into the constantly growing pool of job seekers.
Last week, I wrote about the fact that the number of announced job cuts last month was the highest that we have seen since 2009. According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the final number for January 2006 was more than twice as high as the final number for January 2025…
U.S. employers’ announced job cuts surged in the month of January and hit the highest level since 2009, a new report shows.
Global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas found that employers announced 108,435 job cuts in January – an increase from the 49,795 cuts announced in the same month last year. Job cuts increased 205% from December, when there were 35,553 layoffs announced.
I tried to warn my readers that layoffs were going to accelerate.
And that is precisely what the numbers are telling us.
But what we have been through so far is nothing compared to what is eventually coming.
We were handed the keys to the greatest economic machine the world has ever seen.
But for decades, those running the system have been doing their best to wreck it.
Now a historic crisis is upon us, and a tremendous amount of pain is ahead.
Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
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