The US is in trouble in its own way. We have "the economy" which is supposedly doing GREAT, and then we have individual people's economies, which on the balance suck rocks.

Problem is, we keep "selling AIR" to people, and people keep buying it, even if no real value is added.

Take the pile of wood, metal, wiring, paint and other stuff needed to build a house. The cost is certainly "up somewhat" when you compare the 1978 pile to the 2018 pile. But it's up much less than the corresponding house in 1978 vs. 2018.

The price of materials in 1978 vs. 2018 increased on the order of 280%.
The house itself between 1978 vs. 2018 increased 530%.

That difference; that money "isn't anywhere." But it makes the economy better. As do corporate profits that end up purely in the "investment layer" of the economy, while the people working for those corporations are not materially better off.

Closer to home... we just renewed our homeowner's insurance. It costs just under $1300 this year, compared to $1250 last year... which falls within the realms of inflation. But here's the kicker. We normally pay in monthly payments, deducted from our bank account. NEW this year is a $3.50/month "convenience fee" for the auto withdrawal... AND a 10% surcharge for "financing" that was not there before.

So in REALITY our insurance went up $222 this year, but that will not be reflected in the "economics" sense, because "on paper" our premium is still $1300... the convenience fees aren't part of the actual premium, as economists measure it. And yet we — at end users — just got massively screwed at a rate increase that by FAR exceeds cost of living increases or inflation. And that's ultimately the house of cards that is going to collapse.