Bessent says K-shaped economy is ‘over’

(NewsNation) — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the “K-shaped” economy has come to an end, arguing lower-income Americans are beginning to regain ground.

“I can say here definitively, the K-shaped economy is over,” Bessent said in an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box” earlier this week.

The letter “K” has become shorthand for the diverging economic fortunes of higher- and lower-income Americans in recent years, reflected in everything from wealth accumulation to spending patterns.

The Treasury chief, however, maintains that the K-shaped era is over and says a “C-economy” is emerging, “where the lower-end of wage earners are finally clawing it back, just like they did in President Trump’s first term.”

To support his argument, the treasury secretary pointed to Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing pay grew faster for lower earners than for higher earners in the second quarter.

The data showed weekly earnings for full-time workers at the 25th percentile rose 5.5 percent from a year earlier, compared with 1.5........

© The Hill