Consumers spent a bit more in August than the previous month, a sign the economy is holding up even as inflation lifts prices for food, rent and other essentials. Retired Ripon College economist Paul Schoofs admits he was a bit surprised to see the numbers. “It is somewhat of a surprise to me,” Schoofs told AM 1170s Between the Lines program. “Last month the consumer spending number had dropped.” The Commerce Department says Americans boosterd their spending at stores and for services such as haircuts by 0.4 percent in August after it fell 0.2 percent in July.
