Many Arizonans have money to burn after COVID shutdown, economist says

PHOENIX – After a year-plus being cooped up by the COVID-19 pandemic, many in Arizona have money to spend and will, a Valley economy expert believes.

“Most people came out of this thing quite flush,” Phoenix-based economist Elliott Pollack told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Thursday.

“Here’s why: 88% of the people still have their jobs and those people got paid … and had no place to spend it. You couldn’t go to cousin Izzie’s wedding, you couldn’t go to movie theaters, you couldn’t go to ballgames – all the events and things you usually spend money on.”

Arizona took the biggest jump in personal income in the country last year, despite the pandemic, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported in late March.

Data showed Arizona had an 8.4% personal income change from 2019 to 2020, to an average of nearly $49,000 a year.

Pollack said, “For most people [2020] was a period where they accumulated wealth.”

And there were the stimulus checks from the federal government.

“If you made less than $75,000 a year, the federal government, whether you were working or not, threw money at you,” he said.

Pollack said the state’s economy would be strong over the next two to three years.

“Nothing can stop it.”

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Jim Cross contributed to this report.

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