Economics impacts our lives every day. Below are some of the top storylines from this past week related to economics.
o CBS has announced that it plans to cancel the most-watched show on late night television, “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.” The cancellation ends a more than 30-year run of late-night television for the network. The final show will air at the end of May when host Stephen Colbert’s contract expires. The decision to cancel the show is purely financial, as the world of late-night television has changed drastically in recent years.
The genre has struggled to adapt as more consumers switch over to streaming options and away from traditional television. Advertisement suffered a steep decline too, as ad revenue from late-night shows fell from $439 million in 2018 to $220 million last year – a more than 50 percent decline. Other networks have dropped late-night television shows while comedians have left traditional TV airwaves in recent years, including Conan O’Brien, Samantha Bee, and Taylor Tomlinson. [The New York Times]
o Economists warned of disastrous consequences when President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on American trading partners back in April. Everything from higher prices, rising unemployment and possibly a recession. However, several months later and some analysts are starting to walk back their recession predictions.
Economists caution that the ramifications of the tariffs have not been felt yet but are starting to show up in economic statistics in subtle ways. For example, while the latest overall inflation report remained stable in June, prices have risen sharply from categories directly impacted by tariffs such as toys and appliances. In addition, consumers have pulled back their spending habits in recent months. Companies continue to use up inventories they had before the tariffs took effect and they start passing the costs onto customers. Economists also explain that their most dire predictions are unlikely to come true because many of Trump’s policies never took effect. [The New York Times]
o Census data indicates that more people left metro Atlanta than moved into it during the 12 months that ended in mid-2024. The decline of roughly 1,330 people marks the first time that metro Atlanta lost domestic migrants since numbers started being tracked by the Census Bureau 30-plus years ago. In addition, the city’s weaker hiring among local employers and higher-than-average office vacancies point to a city that has seen its growth stall.
Atlanta has been growing since the 1950’s, surpassing 6.3 million people to become the country’s eighth-largest metro area. However, surging housing costs and traffic are pushing people to choose smaller, less expensive cities instead. Home values in Atlanta have nearly tripled since 2012 to roughly $390,000, outpacing the national average. Other Sunbelt cities that have also seen their population growth stall since the pandemic include Phoenix and Tampa, Fla. [The Wall Street Journal]
o Americans have downsized their summer vacation plans, as they look for ways to cut back on spending. From shorter trips, to choosing to drive instead of fly, or making trips closer to home. Data from Bank of America shows that fewer households booked airline tickets or hotel rooms, while the number of people taking vacation time from work dropped to its lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic in June.
The pullback comes from Americans feeling uneasy about the economy, whether it’s bracing for price hikes stemming from President Donald Trump’s tariff policies or worries over losing their jobs in a slowing job market. Americans expect to spend an average of $3,132 on summer vacations this year, down 25 percent from $4,199 spent on vacations last summer. The waning demand has already had an impact, as airline tickets, hotel, rental car, and concert ticket costs dropped in price in June. [The Washington Post]
o Clean running water is a key marker for economic advancement. However, an increasing number of households in the United States are living without it, a troubling development coupled with President Donald Trump’s administration cutting back federal funding for water infrastructure. The majority of areas without clean water are in urban areas with 72 percent of the households impacted living in metropolitan areas, as utility shut offs because of non-payment or substandard housing where landlords fail to properly maintain properties is the root of the problem.
Portland provides a stark example due to its rising housing costs and the impact those costs have on low-income earners to keep up with a decent standard of living. It has seen the sharpest rise in plumbing poverty in the United States. In 12 of the 15 largest US cities, people of color are disproportionately represented among those lacking running water. The Trump administration is also seeking a 90 percent cut to the two primary funds that provide federal support for water and sewer systems. [Bloomberg]
