You don't dig down deep enough into causes.

"Basic necessities, including housing, car, food, clothing, and healthcare, account for more than 75% of income, leaving less than a quarter for discretionary spending."

Consumers are spending more on housing because they decide to have bigger, better housing, the median home is much nicer now than half a century ago. Cars, this is a mixed bag but still needs to be challenged. The table you presented shows almost as much spent on cars as housing. Around here is seems to be much like housing, people are getting bigger, nicer, more expensive cars and less people share cars now. Well, maybe not right now, that might be reversing. Food, more people are buying prepared food or organic or artisanal. Clothing, how many closets are stuffed past capacity.

It is not really the poor or working class that is doing what I described.

If you mean to be informative you need to break this down and do it by decile or quartile.

It is not expensive to be an American, Americans prioritize spending today on a better lifestyle over saving for retirement. Since we seem to bounce from crisis to crisis it is hard to blame them, Carpe Diem.

TEK