Luke Gromen: Asset price growth directly fuels U.S. consumer spending

Luke Gromen: Asset price growth directly fuels U.S. consumer spending
Asset inflation fuels U.S. spending growth

Luke Gromen, founder, president, macroeconomic analyst, investor at FFTT, LLC (Forest for the Trees), draws a direct link between asset price increases and U.S. consumer spending. Gromen emphasizes that net capital gains and taxable IRA distributions account for 200% of the growth in consumer spending, not even including executive stock compensation that is taxed as ordinary income.

He contends that without asset price growth there is no growth in consumer spending, describing what he calls a 'doomsday machine' where asset price inflation and consumer behavior are tightly connected.

Gromen has previously questioned why deflation in China is not offsetting inflation in the U.S., suggesting that de-dollarization may be a factor in global price dynamics in a recent analysis. He has also argued that U.S. efforts to reshore manufacturing could face setbacks unless bonds decline in real value, highlighting key policy challenges in a separate market commentary.

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