Consumer Spending: The Reality of Zero

May 30, 2008

You can slice it, you can dice it. You can even massage it and look on the bright side. But you still can’t get blood out of a stone or, it seems, inflation-adjusted increases in consumer spending.

Real personal consumption expenditures were flat in April, down from a slight 0.1% increase in March, the government reported today. Meanwhile, as our chart below shows, the longer-term trend isn’t inspiring.

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