The NYT reports that Chrysler dealers complain that they lose 20 to 25 percent of their customers because potential buyers can't get car loans. How many customers does Chrysler lose because people don't have enough money to buy a new car?
It would be helpful if the NYT tried to explore what this claim means. Tens of millions of people are far less creditworthy today than they were a year ago because they have no equity in their home or other financial asset of obvious value. Banks will rationally charge much higher interest rates on loans to people without home equity or other financial assets, therefore it is not clear whether Chrysler's problem stems from issues with the financial system or is simply a result of the fact that the country is much poorer today than it was a year ago.
A second Trump administration will cement a right-wing majority on the Supreme Court for a generation, and put our collective future in the hands of someone who will be virtually unchecked by our institutions. The country has shifted rightward, and the reverberations will ensue for potentially the next few decades. In this climate, a robust independent media ecosystem will be more important than ever. We're committed to bringing you the latest news on how Trump's agenda will actually affect the American people, shining a light on the stories corporate media overlooks and keeping the public informed about how power really works in this country.
Quality journalism is expensive to produce, and we don't have corporate backers to rely on to fund what we do. Everything we do is thanks to our incredible community of readers, who chip in a few dollars at a time to make our work possible. Any amount you give today will help us continue reporting on what matters to our democracy.
