No one is saying “recession,” but you should be thinking itThe latest glimmer of economic trouble came from an unexpected source (at least for me!) when I read that Klarna and DoorDash are officially partnering to offer people the option to set up a payment plan for their food orders. Initially, I laughed the collaboration off because I thought “people would know better than to go into debt to order food,” but that lighthearted thought evaporated when I searched the latest credit card debt numbers. Credit card debt has already spiked to a record high of $1.21 trillion, and that increase came with an increase in credit card payment delinquencies, and auto loan payment delinquencies. I can only expect that trend to continue as costs continue to increase, or hold at high levels, because of inflation and the constant threat of tariff wars from that man. Speaking of tariffs, even Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell mentioned them repeatedly when he announced last week that federal interest rates will hold, and he connected economic instability and sustained inflation to increased tariffs. Another economic red flag is that businesses are bracing themselves for economic “transition” by cutting their own costs – including massive multinational corporations like Shell Oil. Shell plans to cut costs by $3 billion in 2025, including job cuts. So while no one is willing to say the “r” word above a whisper just yet, economic indicators are giving clear negative signals. Keep an eye out on the next jobs report on April 4th, and whether or not the unemployment rate continues to increase, and if the number of new jobs has continued to slow and fall below expectations.
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