Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Americans’ spending behavior shows the consumer economy remains strong despite surveys suggesting otherwise, while pointing to continued wage gains during the Breitbart News “State of the Economy” policy event on Tuesday.
“The American consumer is in very good shape. We’re in touch with the retailers, we’re in touch with credit card companies, and I think to your question, why are people surprised? Because the American consumer just keeps going,” Bessent said.
“I always say, surveys say one thing, but then you look at what people are actually doing with their money, and they are voting, and the consumer economy is strong,” he continued.
Bessent made the comments after Breitbart News Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle asked how wage growth and policies, including no tax on tips, are affecting ordinary American workers.
Breitbart News Finance and Economics Editor John Carney (left) and Breitbart News Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle (center) interview Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (right) at the Breitbart News “State of the Economy” policy discussion on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Matthew Perdie/Breitbart News)
“Many people changed their withholding, so they got automatic wage increases there, and but the important thing here is these wage increases are going to keep going, and they are not inflationary because we’re also creating more supply in the economy,” Bessent said.
Bessent also pointed to tax refunds and limitations in the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) existing systems.
“One meant that we saw record tax refunds, and we could only discern the amount that refunds went up. So, when we said they went up 11 percent, 13 percent, what we can’t see is people who had to pay and then got a refund, like the 50-year-old IRS systems won’t show us,” Bessent said.
“They will soon. We’re modernizing that, but there were substantial refunds,” he continued.
Bessent then returned to the outlook for wages and prices.
“Like I said, prices will come down on the other side of this. But the big difference here is these wage gains are going to keep going,” he said.
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