"Consumers wouldn't be spending if they didn't have extra cash in their pocket, and they expect the economy to stagnate/decline" Debt, leverage, credit cards,

"Consumers wouldn't be spending if they didn't have extra cash in their pocket, and they expect the economy to stagnate/decline" Debt, leverage, credit cards, loans, home equity lines, etc. Perhaps 2007 is a great teacher about overleveraged consumers "spending money in their pockets". It wasn't real, sustainable, and ended terribly.