Washington Edition

Americans Are Spending Faster Than Their Incomes Are Rising

Some economists question whether robust consumption can be sustained.
Holiday shoppers in New York. US consumers have kept spending faster than their incomes are rising.Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg

This is Washington Edition, the newsletter about money, power and politics in the nation’s capital. Today, US economy reporter Mark Niquette looks at the data on spending and incomes. Sign up here. Email our editors here.

The US economy is growing, sentiment is improving, and consumption has been surprisingly resilient. But concerns are starting to surface about whether the engine powering the economy — consumer spending — might run out of gas.