The coronavirus pandemic and ensuing lockdown steered the U.S. economy into a giant, figurative iceberg, threatening to take down everyone on board with it as it started to sink. An unlikely lifeline appeared for the economy during the early weeks of the pandemic: low-income Americans. Low-income Americans, who are regularly viewed in some quarters as a drain on the economy, might actually have been the ones keeping the economy alive and propping it up during that challenging early stretch. With data from millions of daily financial transactions, including debit and credit cards, as well as ACH payments and prepaid ... (full story)