Bloomberg Surveillance · Tuesday, July 7, 2026
Rose Gottemoeller discusses the growing awareness of the affordability crisis, noting that even with flat or slightly growing real wages, many households are 'underwater' due to stagnant incomes and persistent inflation. This economic pressure forces difficult life choices regarding marriage and children, leading to social frustration.
“They're two key criteria to understand. One is the way you. And I think about inflation is a year over year change on the price level, and that makes perfect sense from an economic standpoint. The problem is once you're underwater, once you're spending exceeds your income.”
“If your income and inflation match, which the Federal Reserve or the BLS would look at and say, hey, this is fantastic. Real wages were flat, or real wages grew very slightly, you're still underwater, and you're potentially even more underwater.”
“And that is really creating conditions under which more and more households are facing the life choices that they need to make under a calendar basis, do we get married, do we have children, et cetera, and choosing to opt out of that process that's causing social frustration.”