US economy growing at fastest pace in nearly 2 years — and the White House has declared it ‘explosive growth’

Research by Mark Zandi, the chief economist for Moody’s Analytics, showed earlier in the year (2) and again recently (3) that the top 10% of earners in the country are responsible for nearly 50% of all consumer spending. The data also show that the bottom 80% — those making under $175,000 a year — are merely keeping pace with inflation (4). He added that if those high-earners “turn more cautious” about spending, “the economy has a big problem.”One explanation for the mixed economic signals is that rising co ...