WSWS
As Christmas approaches and the year comes to an end, administration officials are pointing to headlines about GDP growth and a soaring stock market to support the president’s absurd claim that Americans are enjoying the “greatest economy in the history of our country.” Behind these figures lies a sharply “K‑shaped” social reality: spectacular gains in wealth and consumption for the affluent, while tens of millions of workers confront stagnant real wages, mounting debt, mass layoffs, evictions, utility shutoffs and preventable deaths. Above: Homeless men attempt to use a steam vent to stay warm in downtown Detroit on December 22, 2025