Quote · The MeidasTouch Podcast
Thursday Afternoon Breaking News Updates with Ben - 7/2/2026
Where this was said
America's Financial Reality: Savings Rate Collapse, 401(k) Myths, and Consumer Confidence
At 18:55 · chapter starts 18:00
Meiselas zeroes in on the lived economic reality of ordinary Americans, contrasting it sharply with Trump's invented statistics. The personal savings rate has collapsed below 3%, an all-time low, meaning a single medical emergency — increasingly likely as Medicaid and healthcare access are stripped away — could push millions into bankruptcy. [1] — Ben Meiselas "American savings rate below 3%: The US personal savings rate has fallen to an all-time low of less than 3%, leaving Americans dangerously e…" 18:05 Trump's claim that 401(k)s are up 85% is dismissed as a fabricated number; the reality, Meiselas argues, is that many Americans have already been forced to dip into retirement accounts to pay current bills. Consumer confidence data, he notes, has sunk to levels described as worse than the Great Depression — and he refuses to treat that as a perception problem. People feel like they're in a Great Depression because they are in one, he argues. The K-shaped economy that benefits oligarchs while crushing everyone else is the organizing frame: billionaires write off yachts and sports teams while regular people can't make rent.
The US personal savings rate has fallen to an all-time low of less than 3%, leaving Americans dangerously exposed to medical emergencies and unexpected expenses.
Consumer confidence in the US has fallen to levels described as worse than the Great Depression, reflecting widespread economic distress among ordinary Americans.
