cross-posted from: https://piefed.social/c/economy/p/1972277/bloomberg-pawn-shop-loans-spike-as-high-gas-prices-weigh-on-americans
[Bloomberg] Pawn Shop Loans Spike as High Gas Prices Weigh on Americans
Pawn shop owners across the US say they’ve seen an increase in demand for loans in the past month or so, a sign of just how punishing higher gas prices are for some Americans.
“We’re making a lot more loans,” said Tim Cassidy, the fourth generation in his family to run Cassidy’s Jewelry & Loan in Stockton, California. “They have to have that gas, they have to get to work.”
[…]
Pawn shops can offer timely signals about consumer strain that may not be clear in official statistics, which often mask the experiences of different socioeconomic groups and are typically released with a lag.
Emphasis mine.
It will have no effect in the US. This has happened repeatedly since the oil crisis of the 1970s. Every time the gas prices go back down, people run out and buy or lease a gas guzzling automobile again. Then in a few years gas prices go back up, and people freak out again.