Americans Feeling Stuck - Treadmill Economy & Housing Barriers

Story time: The other day, I realized something uncomfortable — that, for the past year, a lot of people’s lives have essentially been on hold. It’s manifesting in multiple ways. Few people are buying homes. No one is switching jobs. The fewest number of people in decades are moving. It’s an economics story, of course. Inflation is stuck (and now trending higher), and hiring is nonexistent. But it’s resulted in an entire nation of people feeling like they’re walking in place — almost as if they’re on a treadmill. The phrase “treadmill economy” has been ringing in my head ever since. I first explored the idea in an essay on my Instagram (@accidental.economist). And as I sat with it more, I realized two fundamental truths. The first: What happens when no one is able to get ahead? Well, you start to lose two of America’s trademark traits: mobility and dynamism. The U.S. economy was never meant to be a treadmill. It was supposed to be a ladder. When people move up — into a better job or a new home — they create space for someone else to step in behind them. Right now, the flow is stalled. People are staying in jobs they’ve outgrown because there’s nowhere better to go. Homeowners are holding onto ultra-low mortgage rates, even if their homes no longer fit their lives. Having a job or a home with a mortgage rate below 3% (even if they don’t fit your needs anymore) are today’s “golden handcuffs.” And it results in a growing pool of people stuck on the sidelines: the first-time homebuyer, the college graduate, the new mom reentering the workforce, the career switcher. Which leads me to my second realization: We spend so much time thinking about living in an economy that we forget we’re living in a society. Everyone benefits when more people can get ahead. I’m hoping to do my part in solving this problem. You’re going to see me write stories different from my typical Fed or economy coverage. Moving forward for Bankrate, you’ll see me focus less on the Fed and the headlines and more on the real barriers holding Americans back — with housing and homeownership at the forefront. Did this post resonate with you? Do you feel stuck on the treadmill economy right now? What do you aspire to achieve, what’s your biggest financial goal, and what’s getting in the way of you achieving it? Progress isn’t impossible. My colleagues Natalie Todoroff and Katie Kelton have been chronicling the experiences of homebuyers across America who are finding ways to achieve their dreams of homeownership anyway, even when the odds feel stacked against them. One buyer put it simply: “You can have what you want, you just got to really work for it.” Read their work: https://lnkd.in/emctB_2a And I’d be honored to hear your story!