Wealthy Americans Are Spending. People With Less Are Struggling. NYT | Top Stories Ben Casselman and Colby Smith 19 October 2025 at 17:01 Data show a resilient economy. But that largely reflects spending by the rich, while others pull back amid high prices and a weakening labor market. © Akilah Townsend for The New York TimesOutside the Pilsen Food Pantry in Chicago. The divide between rich and poor is hardly new, in Chicago or the rest of the country, but it has become more pronounced in recent months.