Man is that an awful graphic. Both for it’s godawful design and that the contents are fucking bleak…

That is not, in fact, the explanation that the article discusses.

Something more was also at play: In recent years, Americans have grown wealthier, and not just the rich. Households across the income spectrum have seen the largest surge in wealth on record. This was driven mainly by a surge in the U.S. stock market (nearly 60 percent of families now have some stock ownership, generally via retirement funds) and a gigantic rise in home values. The vast majority of homeowners locked in mortgage rates under 5 percent, which insulated them from the Federal Reserve’s painful rate hikes. (Most other countries do not lock in a mortgage rate for 30 years, and this leaves their homeowners far more exposed to interest rate hikes.) Meanwhile, U.S. home values soared. People feel wealthier, even if they haven’t actually sold their homes or stocks. When people feel wealthier, they tend to spend more.

Nice graphic!