Will Parker

We’ve just updated our spending by income group data for the second quarter of 2025, based on the Federal Reserve’s Financial Accounts and Survey of Consumer Finance. Looking at the data, it’s not a mystery why most Americans feel like the economy isn’t working for them. For those in the bottom 80% of the income distribution, those making less than approximately $175,000 a year – their spending has simply kept pace with inflation since the pandemic. The 20% of households that make more have done much better, and those in the top 3.3% of the distribution have done much, much, much better. The data also show that the U.S. economy is being largely powered by the well-to-do. As long as they keep spending, the economy should avoid recession, but if they turn more cautious, for whatever reason, the economy has a big problem.

A Louisiana mayor must report to jail after refusing to allow construction of a 390-home subdivision. He had cited sewer concerns. "Judge William Burris ordered Mayor Dan Curtis to spend every weekend incarcerated until he complies" nola.com/news/northshor…

"In response, Ackman said he had played very well the week before." wsj.com/sports/tennis/… via @WSJ

In Phoenix, eviction is its own thriving economy. wsj.com/articles/WP-WS…

“I’ve gone through the cold, the heat, I’ve gotten so sick. I would love to have shelter, on Randall’s Island on a little cot, wherever it is.” Booted from the city's shelters under increasingly strict 30-day limits, migrants are setting up camp nearby. thecity.nyc/2024/08/07/ran…

Who tried to steal Graceland? The scammers behind a plot to nab Elvis Presley’s famous estate goaded the media to “come find us in Nigeria.” NBC News’ search didn’t lead to Africa, but to a grandmother in a small town in Missouri. nbcnews.com/news/us-news/g…

Housing is one of the biggest drivers of rising college costs in the U.S.—for new luxury suites as well as old windowless rooms ⁦@melissakorn⁩ ⁦@shaneshifflett⁩ wsj.com/us-news/educat…

Why is it so hard to build affordable housing in California? One LA project -- 17 years in the making -- gives some clues and a window into what might be changing. My latest w/ @_willparker_ wsj.com/real-estate/ho…

"To understand how rising rents punish families of modest means, look no further than the queen-size bed that Jessica Jones and her three children share in her mother’s living room, where each night brings a... tussle for space in a house with no privacy." nytimes.com/2023/12/11/us/…

A close reading of the modern corporate layoff letter from @ChipCutter "Executives want to acknowledge the contributions of the laid-off employees, while quickly then pivoting to explain why the company will be fine without them." wsj.com/business/spoti…

The ‘Georgists’ Are Out There, and They Want to Tax Your Land - The New York Times nytimes.com/2023/11/12/bus…

Here is a thread on some coverage of issues with @ericadamsfornyc's fundraising Adams Campaign Repeatedly Ignored Regulators’ Demands to Identify Supporters Behind $300,000 in Contributions thecity.nyc/2023/09/22/eri….

Younger generations are losing Georgia’s “country as cornbread” drawl. wsj.com/us-news/georgi… via @scottmcalvert

"In Naples, a typical rental cost $2,833 in July, according to Zillow data. The average Social Security payment for retired workers and their dependents that month was $1,791" @shannonnajma wsj.com/economy/housin…

Samuel Medina, the editor of New York Review of Architecture, is less enthusiastic about the new 60 Wall St design. “It’s ‘lunch bowl contemporary.’ It’s bland, it’s leafy, and it reeks of money" The Final Days of Wall Street’s Beloved ‘Tacky’ ’80s Lobby nytimes.com/2023/08/31/nyr…

.@NewsCorp's Dow Jones unit, which publishes @WSJ, has seen nice revenue growth in recent years. Employees, not so much. I’m supporting the @IAPE1096 proposal to bring our wages back to where they were before the pandemic! $NWSA #IAPEStrong

Miami’s surging housing costs and a fickle labor market are sending many locals packing wsj.com/articles/miami…

"A Journal analysis of data and reports from more than 170 of roughly 400 entities known as continuums of care found that 75% are reporting homelessness increases year-over-year, with L.A. reporting the largest tallies by far." wsj.com/articles/los-a… via @WSJ

The waves of migration that brought Black Americans to many northern cities are reversing wsj.com/articles/black…

The Wagner fighter warned them: “If you refuse to execute a mission, you get shot. And if you try to retreat, you also get shot.” The Russian Soldier Who Surrendered to a Ukrainian Drone wsj.com/articles/russi…