The New Miserables

The New Miserables

Victor Hugo’s masterpiece, Les Miserables, illustrates a timeless truth: Economic anxiety is a force so powerful it drives ordinary people to extreme measures.

Jean Valjean grabs a loaf of stolen bread, haunted by the image of his sister’s starving children…

A man in a MAGA hat clutches a flagpole, his “nonessential” small business having barely survived pandemic lockdowns…

An Amazon driver grips a steering wheel, his attention focused on the clock and the endless round of deliveries ahead…

Today, the echoes of Valjean’s dilemma — frozen on the page — resonate with alarming clarity; in a nation grappling with financial insecurity, Americans are at loose ends…

Sixty-five percent of Americans earning between $50,000–100,000 report living paycheck-to-paycheck, according to a December 2024 PYMNTS Intelligence report.

While 33% of those surveyed routinely skip monthly payments, the same report cites (1) insufficient income and (2) high debt burdens as top-tier financial stressors.

Incidentally, 2023 and 2024 data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the U.S. Census Bureau now calculates that, on average, each U.S. household carries $8,674 in credit card debt.

Plus, a 2022 KFF Health Care Debt Survey finds that 41% of U.S. adults currently have some debt caused by medical or dental bills.

This as the cost of essentials including health care, groceries and housing have far outpaced wage growth. A single medical emergency, in fact, can plunge a family into financial ruin.

Despite Obamacare, 66% of all U.S. bankruptcies are directly linked to health care costs.

Almost No One Is Immune

Even America’s top earners are feeling the undercurrent of financial insecurity, a reality that challenges the perception of economic stability among high-income groups.

Among this group — earning more than $100,000 annually — 48% report they are living paycheck-to-paycheck, per PYMNTS.

And a YouGov study reveals that 30% of Americans in this same income category say they are just getting by, while 12% struggle to meet all their financial obligations.

It follows, then, that consumer confidence is faltering across all income levels, with affluent households no exception.

Spending on luxury goods has dropped nearly 10% year-over-year. Airlines like Delta and JetBlue have revised their financial outlooks downward, citing reduced demand for air travel — a further indication of belt-tightening.

Even retirement planning feels precarious for high earners; one in five doubts their ability to afford retirement.

These trends expose a striking reality: Economic uncertainty is pervasive, affecting Americans across almost every income level.

And because Americans are at loose ends, the social fabric is fraying…

Just Your Ordinary J6 Protester

We return, thus, to the typical MAGA-emblazoned, flag-waving protester on Jan. 6, 2021.

Regardless of your opinion of events that day, our managing editor Dave Gonigam argued one compelling point on Jan. 7…

We stick to our thesis that it’s underlying economic anxiety that’s brought us to this juncture — and especially the Federal Reserve’s policies that have so enriched the elite one-tenth of one percent while the bottom 90% are losing ground.

Over a month later, on Feb. 10, 2021, The Washington Post reached a similar conclusion.

“Exclusive” analysis of 125 Capitol riot defendants uncovered a pattern of financial hardship among those charged.

• The investigation revealed nearly 60% of the defendants had experienced significant money troubles in the past two decades

• Notably, the bankruptcy rate among this group was 18% — about twice the national average

• Furthermore, 25% of the defendants had faced lawsuits for unpaid debts, while 20% had confronted the possibility of home foreclosure at some point.

On the other hand, WaPo says: “Business owners and white-collar workers made up 40% of the people accused of taking part… Only 9% appeared to be unemployed.” In fact, many were middle-class professionals — “few with violent criminal histories.”

But widespread economic anxiety, coupled with eroding trust in institutions, create a volatile mix that threatens social stability.

Which leads to a more recent, more granular example…

Driven to Extremes

“How did you manage to get hit?” That’s the chilling question a 26-year-old Amazon driver allegedly asked a woman lying prone on a Baltimore street last month — after he struck her with his delivery truck.

The incident, captured by a doorbell camera, then shows the driver get back behind the wheel. And drive away… His actions? Morally indefensible. But financial pressures might offer some critical context.

The alleged hit-and-run driver was a third-party Amazon “Delivery Service Partner (DSP)” — generally, a member of the “gig” workforce with no benefits (i.e. health insurance, paid leave, etc.) — whereby delivery quotas often prioritize speed over safety.

About these DSP workers, a post at the Q&A website Quora says: “They wear [an Amazon] uniform and drive a branded Amazon van most of the time… A lot of behind the scenes stuff that occurs will make you worry all the time if you are going to keep your job.”

According to a 2021 article at trade publication Official Mail Guide, 14-hour shifts are not uncommon for these drivers because they’re not allowed to return undelivered packages from their routes.

Drivers, who are frequently expected to deliver close to 400 packages daily, typically earn between $37,881 and $42,203 per year.

Which, admittedly, doesn’t leave a lot of margin after paying for inflation-boosted expenses including rent, food, utilities and car insurance. (Not to mention uninsured visits to the doctor or ER.)

The fictional Jean Valjean? Shares a common thread with the Jan. 6 rioter and the Amazon driver in Baltimore city.

Whether it manifests as petty theft, civil unrest or even the most callous negligence, pervasive financial insecurity can erode moral boundaries and destabilize social norms across time and class lines.

In the United States today, economic anxiety doesn’t just affect bank accounts. It impacts decision-making abilities and our overall health. Prolonged financial insecurity can lead to depression, health issues like heart disease and obesity… and, at the very worst, aptly named “deaths of despair.”

The full impact remains to be seen, but rising costs, wage stagnation and growing debt burdens affect not just individuals but entire communities and institutions.

While it’s abundantly clear that economic anxiety is a force capable of driving ordinary people to extraordinary extremes, it’s also a force capable of reshaping American society.

It’s Worse Than You Think?

“Consumer confidence plummets to lowest level since January 2021,” a CNN headline declares. In one respect, it’s actually worse than that…

According to the Conference Board’s March survey, its Consumer Confidence Index fell 7.2 points to a reading of 92.9. The decline was driven by a significant drop in the Expectations Index, which gauges future economic prospects — which fell to 65.2, the lowest level in 12 years.

The mix of slowing growth and rising prices? Starting to look a lot like “stagflation”...

Turning to the market, the script has flipped since yesterday. Whereas the sentiment was mostly bullish on Monday, investors are in a risk-off frame of mind today.

One noteworthy exception being the tech-heavy Nasdaq, up about 0.20% to 18,225. At the same time, the Dow is down 0.10% to 42,530 as the S&P 500 is treading water at 5,765.

As for commodities, it’s a mixed bag. Crude is down 0.55% to $68.73 for a barrel of WTI. Precious metals, meanwhile, are in the green. The yellow metal is up 0.45% to $3,028.70 per ounce while silver is up an impressive 2.25% to $34.20.

Crypto, you wonder? Bitcoin is down 0.60% to $87,675, and Ethereum is down 1.30% to $2,060.

With that, we’ll bid you farewell today. But join us for another round of 5 Bullets tomorrow…