America’s Delusion of Prosperity: Why the Economy’s “Good News” Is a Mirage

The Numbers They Don’t Want You to Question Sure, retail sales rose 0.6% in June. But that’s not inflation-adjusted. Strip away the illusion of dollar value and ask: are Americans actually buying more, or are they just paying more for less? And let’s not forget that May saw retail sales plummet by nearly 1%. That so-called "rebound" was merely a dead cat bounce, not a sign of real momentum. Even then, the sales growth was narrowly concentrated: auto dealerships, home improvement chains, and “miscellaneous retailers” (read: pet toys and flower shops) did the heavy lifting. Meanwhile, department stores, furniture outlets, and electronics retailers are still bleeding out — clear casualties of a middle class squeezed to the brink. Unemployment filings…