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> consumer spending has shrunk

Part of the reason being that workers have been ordered back to offices, meaning a significant portion of their income is spent on commute and eating out. Crazy how damaging rto is to everything around us.

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Most of the reason is that asset prices (and thus wealth has shrunk), inflation is higher, so people are buying less and there's no Fed dropping money from helicopters.

Indeed, but add travel expenses and the cost of living in crowded cities and eating expensive food and you’ve got a cashflow crisis. Remote work is the single biggest economic boost the economy can get without the government printing money. Not to mention higher productivity.

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