I've only been half following the economics stuff going on for the last few days, but I think @Maxperson has been trying to describe the impact of one problem by talking about something different. Since it's mercifully not about backgrounds... California NY and Florida have some of the most rent burdened cities in the us (iirc Vancouver is the top there in Canada). I'm pretty sure he's mentioned some of the top of the list California cities too.those areas often have a high percentage of Alice households because of rent burden too (he seems to have described them in some posts)IME when things are rough, people spend MORE on escapism. Recessions tend to be good for business at my Comic and Game store, as long as too many of my biggest customers don't lose their jobs (even then, it kind of evens out). That's what I've noticed over 30 years. 2008 was a boom year. So was 2021.
Right now things are a little tight(ish) but I don't think that would be true if publishers were putting out more compelling stuff. (I'm talking mostly Comic publishers here, but WotC is "between" what a lot of our customers will find exciting right now. The new PHB ought to change that.)
Your "when things get tough" comment implies a level of stability they just took a bad turn and that is pretty much a nice thought for those households. I'm not sure that I agree with some of his conclusions, but I definitely feel like there is some misstatements and confusion.