What Giant Skeletons and Puppy Shortages Told Us About the 2020 Economy

The result has often been referred to as a “K-shaped economy,” in which the well-off are on a rapid ascent while those with lesser means — and disproportionately #Black, #Hispanic and female workers — are suffering the pandemic’s economic consequences. #As the rich get richer and more mobile in the work-from-home era, they’re buying houses.

#America has #Zoom towns.

#Many middle-class millennials who lingered on the housing market’s sidelines for years reported that the pandemic had hastened their buying plans. They have been lured by the #Fed’s pandemic-tied interest rate cuts, which have made mortgages cheap, and by the prospect of more space.

#Some millennials, freed from office buildings by remote work arrangements, seem to be aiming for cities where single-family homes are relatively affordable — what some writers have labeled “Zoom” towns. #People roughly ages 21 to 40 have accounted for a huge share of home purchase loans in places like #New #Castle, #Pa., and #Frankfort, #Ind., according to data from #Ellie #Mae, a mortgage software company. #At the same time, rents in pricey cities like #New #York, #San #Francisco and #Boston have been dropping.

#This $300 giant skeleton sold out.

#As people found themselves spending time at home, many decided to finally fix the back porch or renovate the garden — or to invest in weirder types of décor. The #Home #Depot and its competitors had a good year in general as #America shifted from spending on services to spending on goods as restaurants closed and far-flung vacations became off limits. #But the home repair store saw that goods-over-experiences trend play out in a big way at #Halloween. The company offered a $300 giant skeleton that became a national sensation, selling out before #October even started. #People went on to decorate the 12-foot frame for the holidays, to social media users’ delight.

#Deficit spending got a celebrity endorsement.

#Skeletons aren’t the only domain where some #Americans decided that bigger might be better. A group of economists has been arguing for years that the #United #States needlessly shackles its potential by trying to contain the federal deficit. They say resource constraints are the real limit on how much the #American government, which prints its own currency, can spend.

#That idea — called modern monetary theory — attracted a lot of attention in 2020, particularly as some #Democratic presidential candidates promised sweeping government spending programs. #It even hit #Hollywood. The actor and musician #Ice #Cube suggested in a tweet that #America should be able to deal with problems like hunger and homelessness since it can print cash. #Lest fans miss the point, he posted a follow-up photo of the economist #Stephanie #Kelton’s book on the theory, which came out in 2020.

#Celebrity endorsement aside, the theory has many critics, and it is clearly not operative in #Washington yet: #Deficits were central to the debate over a $900 billion relief package that #President #Trump signed into law on #Sunday night. #But the government’s debt increased rapidly during the year as #Congress and the #White #House stepped in to blunt the effects of the pandemic, so an era of bigger spending does seem to be upon us.