The US economy is stuck in a sharp twist called a K-shaped recovery — and the bad news is brewing at the bottom leg. While rich Americans happily spend on travel, luxury, and tech, millions in lower-income groups are struggling hard. Their pandemic savings have dried up. Credit card bills and loan troubles are hitting record highs, squeezing their monthly budgets painfully tight. These families are now paying more on debts than on daily essentials like food and rent. This kind of money stress usually shows up months before a full recession is declared. The rich, on the other hand, enjoy rising home and stock values and locked-in low mortgage rates that keep their confidence soaring. Their strong spending boosts national numbers but hides the deep slowdown underneath. Why is the bottom half in trouble? Inflation has cooled overall but essentials like groceries, rent, utilities, and transport remain sharply higher than before 2020. At the same time, wage growth in retail, hospitality, and local services has slowed or stopped keeping up. Many workers earn less than before, unable to match rising living costs. Spending habits reveal the pain. Lower-income consumers are cutting down on restaurants, shopping, travel, and local services. Discretionary spending drops — a classic warning sign of a quiet recession hitting the working class first. Small business owners in neighborhoods feel the pinch as fewer customers walk in but costs stay high. Thinner profits may soon force layoffs and hour cuts, deepening the economic pain. Debt troubles worsen the picture. Credit card balances are above $1.3 trillion, with delinquencies rising fastest since 2009. Auto loan troubles hit younger and poorer borrowers hardest. Overall household debt nears $18.6 trillion. Many families pay more toward debt than goods. Savings saved during the pandemic vanish quickly, leaving no buffer. This falling spending threatens sectors dependent on high-volume sales like restaurants, discount stores, salons, and budget travel. Even mid-tier goods like clothing and home items face shrinking demand. Economists warn a narrow recovery focused on the rich is unstable. If the lower half’s downturn spreads, the whole economy could soon wobble. So far, the top leg of the K shape stays strong because wealthy Americans have cushion from assets and locked-in loans. But the growing gap is a red flag. When the bottom falls deeper, the entire nation could feel the shock. Economists closely watch rising credit delinquencies, slowing wages, dropping savings, and declining discretionary spending as early signs escalating toward a broader slowdown. The big question: Has the bottom half already entered a recession? Many analysts say yes. But will this weakness climb up to strain the middle and top layers? If current trends continue, a broader recession seems just around the corner. For millions of Americans, the hard times at the bottom are no longer coming— they are here. And unless something changes, the US economic dance could soon trip badly.