“Strip that out, and you’ve got a modest real increase, potentially reflecting that consumers are budget-tight and timing their buys around heavy discount days,” said Mr. Austin, a former economic adviser to two Kansas governors.
Record-high 203 million people shopped over Thanksgiving weekend, says National Retail Federation
→
"There may be more public benefit in directing it to other services or returning it to taxpayers," said Mr. Austin, an economist with the National Center for Public Policy Research's Project 21, a network of Black conservatives. "If nobody knows of it and nobody is using it, what benefit is there to having the service out there?"
Study finds use of Biden-era 988 hotline lagging amid GOP pushback
→
