Consumer Spending Is OK, Not Great

According to the Wall Street Journal, in the second quarter “American consumers spent at the strongest pace since late 2014.” Is that true?

Sure, if you look at Q2 compared to Q1. But why would you? A better measure is simple year-over-year growth, and that shows nothing special at all:

Consumer spending growth is holding steady, which is good news. But it certainly isn’t setting any records.

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