Americans are spending $800 just to cool their homes. We are at a breaking point

‘Washington keeps telling Americans to look at the stock market. Americans are looking at their electric bills, their grocery receipts and their credit card balances.’ Photograph: Satjawat Boontanataweepol/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Since 2020, the stock market has more than doubled. Americans who own substantial financial assets are reveling in economic success. For everyone else, the economy feels very different. This summer, the average family will spend nearly $800 just to keep their home cool, almost 40% more than in 2020 and up 10.5% since last summer.

Americans now carry more than $1.2tn in credit card debt. Nearly 60% say they are living paycheck to paycheck. One in six households is behind on its utility bills. Every year, utilities disconnect electric service more than 13m times. Nearly 40% of lower-income households struggle to pay their energy bills.