Record number of Americans not working, homeownership at 53%: who are we?

**Christy Strawser** (0:02)
The day's biggest stories, the people behind the headlines, the conversations you won't hear anywhere else. I'm Christy Strawser. You're listening to Audacy's On Deadline.
Stunning new government figures show the number of Americans who are voluntarily not working has reached a new high under President Donald Trump, eclipsing spikes tied to the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis tallied 105.8 million people over 16 who were unemployed, and not actively seeking work in June. Pile on the fact that only 53% of US adults now own a home, and it has Chad Hartman in Minneapolis asking, who are we and what happened to the American dream?

**Chad Hartman** (0:44)
This is such an essential part of the American dream, right? That at some point, not right away, maybe right away, things are really well. If people still want to believe in the American dream in this country, we've got to find a way for the starter home to be more achievable and for us to get higher than 53% of people own their own home. And I'm a capitalist through and through. As I say often, I don't think the solution, every problem is just tax, tax, tax. This state is overtaxed. The Democrats are in love with taxing. But we need to give people more of a chance to have incremental levels of success. If we're now getting to when people are 30 and 40 and they want to believe they have an opportunity to own a home that they can live in, they can feel comfortable in, they want to live alone, they want to raise a family, and when we're talking about the number is 53% of American adults own their homes compared to what was perceived as 25% and under 35, it's 22%.
We've got major issues. I think that's a little bit why the further left for the Democrats keep saying this isn't a fair system. In a lot of ways, I don't know who the presidents are going to be the next 10, 20 years. And no one does. And the separation is enormous. And it is troubling. We need to create more of a system where people feel like that where they're at a 25 to 30 to 35 to 40, and I'm not saying it's gone for everybody, because there's still tens of millions of people who have that chance. But 53% of adults own a home in this country says what, to you and also the Texers? 53%.
What do you say?

**SPEAKER_3** (2:46)
This seems to be the new America. There was a story in the news either late last week or earlier this week. I don't remember about how it feels. The American dream has changed from that to, gee, I hope my parents are wealthy enough in retirement to help me pay for that home, that car, that education, all that stuff that used to be affordable. And it had to be loans for a lot of it too. But those you were able to pay back, because either interest rates weren't as high or what you were paying interest on wasn't so astronomically high as it is now. And we know all the stories about, we know the reality about how inflation has greatly outpaced income growth, hasn't helped a thing, and it's still not working.

**Chad Hartman** (3:34)
And then you add the other part of the story. We're now at 105 million Americans are not working. This is more than during COVID.

**SPEAKER_3** (3:44)
Yeah.

**Chad Hartman** (3:45)
Okay.

**SPEAKER_3** (3:47)
Sixteen and over.

**Chad Hartman** (3:48)
Not in the labor force.
832,000 workers dropped out of the labor force in June alone. 5.3 million workers recently have dropped out because they discourage and they're not even bothering to look. But we have some troubling economic separation, where I don't see it coming together.

**Christy Strawser** (4:12)
That's housing and jobs, but how about dining? Here's Rob Hart in Chicago.

**Rob Hart** (4:18)
Doug Roth, founder and president of Playground Hospitality, based right here in Chicago. Doug, are consumers reaching their breaking point when it comes to restaurant prices?

**Doug Roth** (4:30)
You know, something is complicated. I don't know how else to phrase it. What's transpiring is something that is very much seen today in the economic world, which is the K economy. And I think what's transpiring with some consumers is that they're going on that up leg of the K and really don't care in some cases that they're paying more for especially steak restaurants. Can you believe for a six ounce filet right now is the average is about $86?
But then you also have what's also going down on the other side, which is the lower part of the K. And that is that you're having individuals who are trading down and you also have restaurants at this point that aren't being able to capture that business any longer. And you have many, many, many of the, what I'll say is middle, casual dining restaurants, such as the Applebee's of the world, having some real, real problems because they just don't know how to price it.