CHRISTINE MADDY STRETCHES HER buck by shopping at discount stores, forgoing vacations and scrimping whenever possible to keep her family afloat. To the mother of five in rural Minnesota, that penny-pinching plan also means raising chickens, geese and ducks to offset the high cost of food.
Despite earning a “great wage” as a registered nurse, Maddy said she and her husband, Ryan, who works as a union crane operator, struggle to save money in a precarious economy. Yet some observers, including President Joe Biden, predict it will avoid a downturn in favor of a soft landing as inflation cools following a number of interest rate rises by the Federal Reserve.
“Yes, yes, yes,” Biden said on August 14 when asked if the U.S. had beaten inflation that had risen sharply…
