Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
More than 49% of all consumer spending in the United States is now performed by the top 10% of U.S. earners—meaning that nearly half of U.S. consumption originates from around one-tenth of the population, with the rest of the country in relative stagnation. Economists have begun describing this simultaneous growth and decline as being “K-shaped.”
On the latest episode of FP’s Ones and Tooze podcast, Adam Tooze unpacks this phenomenon. Listen to the rest of the episode as Adam and Cameron explore whether or not the rest of the world is experiencing this K-shaped divergence—and how this might impact voter behavior.
More than 49% of all consumer spending in the United States is now performed by the top 10% of U.S. earners—meaning that nearly half of U.S. consumption originates from around one-tenth of the population, with the rest of the country in relative stagnation. Economists have begun describing this simultaneous growth and decline as being “K-shaped.”
On the latest episode of FP’s Ones and Tooze podcast, Adam Tooze unpacks this phenomenon. Listen to the rest of the episode as Adam and Cameron explore whether or not the rest of the world is experiencing this K-shaped divergence—and how this might impact voter behavior.
